A Twisted Tale
by miraline
Summary: It's up to Bella to protect Edward from a vicious stalker in this twisted tale of obsession and deadly desire.
1. 101 I see you

_Authors__ note and disclaimer at the bottom of the page..._

**  
Summary  
**  
A dark force who tries to claim what she believes she owns... a man who must face his worst fears... two people who must learn to trust each other in order to survive…. It's up to Bella to protect Edward from a vicious stalker threatening to make his life a living hell; an assignment that turns out to be a little more than she bargained for. A complicated situation that becomes even more ticklish when old sparks fly between the agent and her protégé.

_**Enjoy!**_

**Chapter 1 - #101 - I see you**

* * *

_"Of all that is written, I love only what a person has written with his own blood"*_

_*Friedrich Nietzsche (German classical Scholar, Philosopher and Critic of culture, 1844-1900.)_

* * *

_**The first envelope…**_

This twisted little tale started one gray and soggy winter's day.

It began much like any other Sunday in Edward Cullen's life: he slept until noon, stumbled blindly into the kitchen for a much needed caffeine injection and then padded into his bathroom to get dressed and ready to spend an hour at the gym with his brother Emmett. So far nothing unusual, nothing indicating that this was going to be anything but a normal Sunday afternoon.

The workout session was rigorous as always. Edward suffered through it, mostly to prove that he was not a complete wuss. Emmett took great pleasure in pushing him to the point of total exhaustion. His freak of a brother could lift a car without breaking a sweat.

Before the hour was over Edward had cartoon birds chirping in small circles above his head. The birds kept him company for the better part of the walk home. Hungry, lightheaded and still somewhat shaky from the adrenaline rush he made a small detour to the grocery store to get a box of emergency donuts. Again, this was nothing unusual for a Sunday afternoon in the life of Edward Cullen.

When he finally returned to his studio apartment a considerable part of the day had already passed. The sigh he let out as he unlocked the door and stepped inside his home was a mixture of exasperation and contempt. It had been an exhausting few hours and he was looking forward to a hot shower, some clean clothes and above all, food.

He didn't know it yet but his day was about to take a turn of the most unpleasant kind.

Tossing his keys on the kitchen counter, he dug up a frozen burrito from his grocery bag and placed it in the microwave oven. While he waited for the food to heat up, he put the rest of the groceries away and began flipping through the mail that had piled up over the past week.

On first glance, it was the usual stuff; junk mail and a few bills. There was, however, one envelope that stood out from the rest. It was scarlet red and square shaped and looked like some fancy schmancy invitation of some sort. It had no return address, no stamp, no postmark, no nothing…. It was addressed simply to 'Edward' and had, by the looks of things, most likely been hand-delivered.

Puzzled, he tore the envelope open and pulled out the contents. A chill of foreboding ran down his spine as he realized what he was holding in his hands. Instead of a card or a letter there were photographs, not just any photographs; three very detailed close-ups of the five story-74' high 1940s-era brick building Edward had called his home for the last year and a half.

The first photo was of the main entrance, showing two people standing in the doorway talking. It was grainy, but still clear enough to make out all the necessary details. He recognized one of the silhouettes as himself and the other as the blond yoga instructor slash waitress slash neighbor from down the hall.

The second photograph was more of an area shot (think Google Map's street view feature), but hq enough that you could make out the license plates on the cars in the foreground… hq enough that you could read the letters printed on the back of Edward's sweatshirt as the camera had captured him stumbling home after what appeared to have been a wet night out in a rain-soaked NY.

The third and last photo was taken from a slightly different angel and showed the upper part of the facade of the building. The focus in the picture was on the southwest corner of the fifth floor, the very same corner where Edward's apartment was situated. Someone had used a red marker to make circles around each and every one of his three attic-like windows. His forth window, the half moon shaped one closest to his bed, even had a little red cross drawn over it.

As if that wasn't disturbing enough there was a bible quote scribbled across the bottom of the photo;

_"Do not urge me to leave you or quit following you! Where you go, I will go. Where you live, I will live. Your people will become my people and your God my God. Where you die, I will die. That is where I will be buried…" (1:16-17) _

Actually, disturbing wasn't a strong enough word for it. All thoughts of food were quickly forgotten. Edward never got around to eat his burrito that Sunday afternoon… or any other food for that matter…

Before the day was over he had invested in new shutter blinds for all of his windows and an additional lock on his front door.

* * *

_**The second red envelope…**_

…was found tucked inside Edwards morning paper, on a windy spring day the first week of March. It contained a new stash of photos, similar type of tele-lens-spy-shots as the previous ones, only this time all of them were snapshots of Edward out and about in various locations and situations. There were photos of him entering a Starbucks coffee shop with frizzy wind-blown hair and a laptop tucked under his arm. The next few ones showed him outside his favorite Chinese takeout place and after that came a couple photos of him dressed in his business attire - tie, coat, slacks, fancy black shoes and white shirt - flagging down a cab with his guitar case in one hand and his briefcase in the other.

The handwritten message that accompanied the photos this time was short but well composed, laced with Nietzsche quotes and just a hint of underlying menace.

'_I know where you hang, I drive by there often._

_I spy on the circus that makes up your friends.  
I won't be pushed aside, won't be ignored.  
You ought to face our destiny with courage _

_because I will follow you until your conscience bleeds more freely than my heart. _

_All truths are for me soaked in blood.' _

* * *

_**The third red envelope…**_

…was tucked under the windscreen wiper of his car. The forth one was pinned to the bulletin board by the elevator and the fifth was delivered to his apartment in a pizza box, marking the beginning of a never ending stream of intrusive photos and handwritten messages with promises of blood and pain.

And then there were the anonymous phone calls… dozens of them, always from random payphones or disposable cell phones or numbers with blocked caller IDs. Most of them were hang-ups or messages by a disguised voice.

The first few ones were innocuous enough, someone calling his mobile claiming to be his 'destiny', followed by series of strange but non-threatening text messages leading him to assume the caller was harmless.

After a while, however, the caller started saying nasty things like 'You'll bleed for me', 'I'll punish you till you behave', or 'I'll hurt you till you need me', all with a disguised cartoon-like voice. There was something about that voice that fazed Edward more than he wanted to admit. It sounded so young, but so evil, as though it was a demon in human form… it was unnerving. The frequency of these calls was alarming as well. Sometimes 20-30 a night for a week straight, then nothing for a few days, then back again.

After having changed his phone number thrice to no avail, he swallowed his pride and turned to the police for help. A police report was filed and an investigation initiated; an investigation that had (after two months) yet to result in anything remotely useful.

Nothing unusual had showed up on the surveillance tapes from the building, same thing with the paper trail. No usable fingerprints or other identifiers could be obtained from the envelopes, the photos or the many handwritten notes.

The digital trail, however, was a slightly different story. It was quickly determined that a majority of the phone calls (text messages included) were local of origin, meaning they had all been placed through one of the thirty something cell towers in the area. Edward was quite surprised to learn that the police could pull geographic coordinates from every single one of those calls. Not though live tracking of GPS signals though, because the stalker knew better than to use a GPS enabled phone, but through triangulation - a method using the signal strength from three, or more, nearby cell towers to calculate the last known location of the phone. But of course the caller never stuck around in the same location long enough to get caught.

There was no distinct pattern to the many coordinates obtained, nothing to help determine the identity of the stalker. The amount of data generated was staggering and growing by the hour and the police was simply too under-resourced to deal with it.

The officer handling the case was sympathetic, but not very helpful, saying things like 'the threats are vague and lacking in detail, but don't worry there is no imminent danger to your life.'

... which in Edward's opinion sounded like complete B.S. 'Someone wants to see you bleed, but don't worry these things are almost always empty threats.'

Gee, that's reassuring. NOT!

Five months, 101 notes and 256 phone calls later there was nothing harmless or innocuous about the situation. Edward's 'friendly' stalker had turned into an obsessive psychopath watching his every move.

* * *

**AN: **This is my first post and first fic in this fandom – hello everyone! -- and first shameless plea for feedback!

Bella will make her big entrance in the next chapter.

* * *

**Disclaimer**

All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

I do not in any way profit from this story and that all creative rights to the Twilight characters belong to their original creator, Stephenie Meyer.

The plot line though is my own brainchild, so please don't steal it. I worked hard to come up with it! (Really, I did.)

No copying or reproduction of this work is permitted without my express written authorization. Copyright 2010 by Miraline. 


	2. 102 Threats and Scares

**AN:** Usually I don't have time for moe than one update a week, but I just couldn't help myself in updating this new fic a bit fast…

Updated 2010-05-25: Nothing major, just corrected a date that was wrong

**Chapter 2 - #102 -** **Threats and Scares**

.xXx.

**#102**

**Note #102** was found taped to Edward's front door. There were no photos, poems or quotes this time, just a seemingly random sequence of letters and numbers scribbled on a post-it-note, CGF8760 BGP5578 164277 2906…. random to anyone but the intended receiver.

CGF8760 and BGP5578 were the license plate numbers of the two cars he owned but rarely drove. 164277 was the entry code to the garage underneath the apartments on the ground floor of his building and 2906 was Edward's own personal code to access the fifth floor through the elevator.

His stalker was getting closer, bolder and more determined...

.xXx.

"Name?"

"Isabella Bla-... I mean Swan"

"Age?"

"26."

"Prior occupation?"

"Police officer, Phoenix Police district, Arizona."

"Current assignment?"

"I'm a rookie. I just finished my training, 16 weeks in Quantico."

"First day, huh?," the man behind the main registry desk gave the female agent a bemused smile. He ran her ID through the system and had her do an eye and finger scan before he handed her a handgun in a holster and her registry papers.

"These papers give you the right to use your weapon in case of emergencies and immediate danger. They need to be filled out ASAP, okay?"

"Because God help us if I were to get trigger-happy before all the paperwork is done…"

"You catch on quickly! Welcome to the FBI, agent Swan. I think you'll fit right in."

.xXx.

**Note #103**

_You thought your secrets were safe. _

_You were wrong._

_It looks as though your past is catching up with you. _

_Now everyone will know and be disgusted,_

_I'll make sure of that._

_Your blood is mine, you can not escape me._

**Note **#**103 **was found inside Edward's apartment, on a pillow on his bed. As if the written threat wasn't clear not enough, it was accompanied by some rather disturbing photos. Not the usual 'stalkerazzi' kind but a contact sheet of thumbnail images from a professional studio session, tagged with the words 'Kascade Studio, New York, 06052003.

.xXx.

06052003 - June 5th 2003 - a date forever engraved in Edward Cullen's memory. Funny, how six digits on a piece of paper were enough to spark such a blinding flash of panic.

Gasping desperately for air he stumbled, half blindly, into his car. With the envelope still crumbled in his hand he turned the ignition and then stomped on the accelerator.

In his hurry to get away he forgot to shift into first gear instead of reverse and the car leaped backward with a lurch. By the time he had managed to maneuver the car out of the garage and into traffic, his head was pounding worse than any headache he'd ever known. The burning sensation in his stomach grew, consuming him with fear. His chest was tightening painfully and he could hardly breathe.

He recognized this pain. It hadn't happened in a while but he knew the signs, he was on the verge of having a panic attack… either that or his ulcer was acting up again…

In spite of the cool air, sweat soaked the back of his shirt. He could hear his heart, thumping against his ribs, pushing up in his throat.

With his two sweaty hands in a white knuckle death-grip on the steering wheel, he fought with all his might to keep the car on the road. "I'm fine. It's nothing. I'm fine," he mumbled over and over again, willing himself not to freak out.

The relief he felt as he pulled the car to a screeching halt, next to Emmett's red Jeep Wrangler, was nearly overwhelming. Collapsing in exhaustion his body landed heavily on the car horn, making a loud, constant honk. He might even have passed out for a minute or two because the next thing he remembers is being helped out of the car by his brother.

.xXx.

**Text message #302**

_Run and I'll catch you, hide and I'll find you, disobey me and you'll be punished._

_So you think you can escape me? Think again…_

_You may not understand me but understand this; _

_You WILL give in to me, or you will NOT like the consequences._

_I'll make you pay in rivers of blood. _

.xXx.

Edward didn't like the feeling of waking up alone, especially not in a bed (or in this case on a couch) that wasn't his own.

It took him a few seconds to remember where he was and what he was doing there but as the memory of the previously day washed over him he quickly tumbled out of his makeshift bed and scrambled for his clothes.

It was hardly the first time he had spent the night on his brother's couch, but usually those occasions involved booze and lots of junk food and almost never ended in a full blown panic attack.

The whole experience seemed almost unreal now in the quickly brightening daylight; the open window, the suspicion that someone had been in his apartment, the red envelope on his pillow and his own almost hysterical reaction to it.

It felt like a bad dream, a nightmare, but it wasn't a dream, it was reality… It wa-… Just then his thoughts were interrupted by a sudden noise. Somewhere nearby someone was laughing and moving around. Paranoia immediately raced through Edwards' mind and lingered like a bad taste in his mouth.

Don't _be__silly, he told himself_, _ignoring_the fear that clawed at his belly. Laughter was after all a perfectly normal, non threatening sound to be heard in a family friendly neighborhood around breakfast time. Nothing to be alarmed about…

He hesitated briefly, then squared his shoulders and set out to find the source of the sound_. _His brother had no doubt left for work already, but the rest of his family should still be around somewhere.

The sight that met him as he stepped into the kitchen had a somewhat calming effect on his frazzled nerves. He found Rosalie, his sister-in-law (in bathrobe, slippers and hair curlers), juggling a fussing baby on her hip while cradling a phone between her shoulder and neck. She was in mid-phone conversation by the sound of things.

"…_I still say he should hire someone..."_

"…_."_

"_I don't know, a PI, a bodyguard, a hitman…"_

Edward cringed inwardly, knowing exactly what they were discussing. Stepping further into the room he cleared his throat to alert her to his presence. Rosalie whipped around at the sound but didn't seem terribly surprised to see him. Instead of a greeting she merely pointed to her phone and mouthed 'Alice' with a dramatic roll of her eyes.

"Okay, no hitman. That was a joke obviously."

"…_. ……. .. ………. ."_

"_Right, and besides the media backlash would be a nightmare."_

"..."

"_I don't know, but he's going to have to find somewhere else to live, that place isn't safe anymore."_

"……_. …."_

Edward could only hear one side of the conversation but that was all he needed to surmise that his sister, Alice, was already up to speed on the latest development. No shock there. She was quite possibly the most curiosity-driven person on the planet, always sticking her nose in where it didn't belong and finding out secrets she shouldn't know. Her ability to sense things happening before they actually happened was uncanny to say the least.

Edward heaved a sigh and helped himself to a cup of coffee. Leaning against the kitchen counter, he sought out eye contact with his nephew and made the universal sign for 'blahblahblah' with his hand. The small child sniggered in agreement… or maybe the boy was just passing gas, which would explain the burp that followed… either way the phone conversation seemed to drag on forever.

It was a well-known fact that when Alice got going she could easily talk for hours on end with little to no input from anybody else. Rosalie hummed and ahhed into the receiver every few minutes or so, but was clearly more interested in the food on the stove before her.

She was mixing up a batter of some sort and pouring what looked like vegetables into a frying pan. Edward had to give her props for her mad multitasking skills, but whatever it was she was cooking it smelled evil; like garlic and onions and Brussels sprouts. No wonder the boy was fussing, no one in their right mind would want Brussels sprouts for breakfast.

"Aw, man, that looks nasty. I feel your pain!," Edward cooed in a sing song voice to the child.

"I heard that!," Rosalie snapped with a hand over the receiver. "Don't be insulting my cooking, you dimwit!"

"Just stating the obvious," he retorted, throwing his hands up in a mock gesture of innocence. "Kids don't like vegetables."

"Is that so? I didn't know you were such an expert on kiddy food Edward," Rosalie smirked, thrusting the squirming baby into his arms. "Why don't you make yourself useful? There is formula and a spare bottle in the diaper bag in the living room, knock yourself out!."

"Eh, sure… Come here buddy; let's see if we can find you some real food! Veggies are for girls and wussies."

"Stop yapping, Cullen!," Rosalie half growled, half snarled, earning what sounded like a loud shriek from the phone.

Edward took that as a cue to leave the kitchen.

.xXx.

Security wasn't something Edward normally gave much thought to. Sure, nowadays he usually always slept with a baseball bat near his bed and rarely ever left home without a can of pepper spray in his pocket but that was pretty much the extent of it. He didn't carry a gun, nor did he have one in his home. If there was anything he had learned from his father, a_renowned trauma surgeon_, it was _to value and respect all human life._

However, _as much as Edward shared his father's viewpoint, he also knew that he was _fast approaching the limit of how much abuse he could there even such a thing as a kosher, nonviolent way of dealing with a stalker?_ Turning the _other cheek clearly didn't cut it anymore.

Getting the police involved had been _like waving a red__ flag before a bull,_but on the other hand ignoring the threats only seemed _to add more fuel to_the already raging fire. He had held off making any drastic changes, simply because he refused to let this stalker person take control of his life, but at this point he didn't know how to handle the situation anymore.

Naturally he had already considered the idea of moving to a safer, security-guard operated neighborhood but he wasn't sure what good, if any, that would do. This stalker person knew entirely too much about his life, not just the basic stuff like his address and phone number, but intimate details about his routines, habits, social activities, interests, hobbies… Nothing was private or sacred anymore, not even his own home. Edward couldn't help but shudder at that thought. The stakes of the game had gone up… drastically…

Pushing the familiar wave of panic out of his mind, he tried to concentrate on the little boy cradled in his arms.

"I bet you're starving, aren't you?"

The child gurgled something incomprehensible and pushed a small fleshy foot into his almost toothless mouth.

"I hear ya! Let's find that bottle of yours!," Edward suggested as he put the boy down on the floor and began scanning the room for something resembling a bag of baby supplies. "Uhm, I have no idea what I'm looking for here Elliot so you're going to have to take the lead."

The boy stared back at him with what he was certain was great understanding.

"Where is your stuff Elliot?"

The child turned himself around and began crawling with speed and determination towards the playpen set up in the corner of the room.

"Not your toys, your other stuff," Edward laughed as he watched the boy head straight for his favorite toy; a pink, plush elephant in a tutu. "You're too smart for your own good, kiddo."

Scooping the boy up from the floor Edward tickled him till he shrieked with delight and for few brief moments all thoughts of privacy and security concerns were pushed to the farthest corner of his mind.

.xXx.

Rosalie waited until Edward was out of earshot before she injected herself back into the phone conversation by asking — rhetorically — _'D__on't you EVER pause to breathe__?'._

The phone line went silent for about a fraction of a second, before Alice threw herself back into her tirade. Rosalie paid attention long enough to register that she's been talking about of electronic surveillance versus in-person security guards.

"_I really don't think heat detectors and night vision gadgets are the right way to go_," she hurried to interrupt before Alice could go into a full rant._ "And I doubt he'd let us post a guard outside his door." _

"……"

"_As a matter of fact I DO have an idea and a good one at that. "_

"…. …. .. ………."

"_When was the last time you spoke to that cop friend of yours? What's her name? That girl from Forks… the one Eddie used to crush on, Chief Swans daughter…" _

"….."

"_I know she's not a cop anymore, that's kind of the whole point. Those __dimwits don't know_ _shit from Shinola_ _anyway._ _We need someone higher up on the food chain and_ _this girl is supposed to be well connected these days from what I have heard…."_

"……………………"

Five minutes later, Rosalie hung up the phone with a sense of accomplishment. She had always been a firm believer in networking and the power of having the right connections. Why do the dirty work when someone else can do it for you?

Pouring herself another cup of coffee she turned her attention back to the stove and the veggie stuffed pancakes she was making for breakfast.

She was halfway through frying her second batch of pancakes when a loud crash and piercing wail suddenly echoed through the apartment.

"He's a child not a football, stop throwing him around Eddie!," she shouted, only half-joking.

When she didn't get a response her maternal instincts kicked in full force. Putting her cup away she quickly followed the sound of her son's pitiful cries.

"Oh, there you are," she sighed, slightly out of breath, as she sprinted into the living room a few seconds later. "Is everything okay?"

"Sorry, we're fine. I made a sudden move that scared the kiddo, that's all," Edward muttered in a strained tone, rocking the crying child in his arms to no avail.

"Oh, okay… He's just cranky because he's hungry. He takes after his father that way. Did you find the bott-…," Rosalie trailed off mid-sentence when she saw Edwards cell phone crushed into pieces on the floor.

"Let me guess, another text message?"

* * *

**Disclaimer**

All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

I do not in any way profit from this story and that all creative rights to the Twilight characters belong to their original creator, Stephenie Meyer.

The plot line though is my own brainchild, so please don't steal it. I worked hard to come up with it! (Really, I did.)

No copying or reproduction of this work is permitted without my express written authorization. Copyright 2010 by Miraline.


	3. 303 Lifeline

**AN: **this is a shorten one, but an update none the less

.

**Chapter 3 - #303 - Lifeline**

.

.xXx. .xXx. .xXx.

**Text message #303**

_I know indeed what evil I intend to do,_

_but stronger than all my afterthoughts is my fury,_

_fury that brings upon mortals the greatest evils.*_

_*Euripides, Medea_

.xXx. .xXx. .xXx.

.

_**FBI's **__**field office in New York City**_

"Hi Heidi." Bella smiled politely at the person behind the front desk as she hurried through the lobby. "Do you have any messages for me?"

The receptionist smiled and nodded. "Just one and you are not going to like it. Jenks wants to see you ASAP."

"What? Why? I'm not that late am I?," Bella asked with a quick glance at her watch. "Damn, it's the second time this week...," she started but trailed off quickly as a door flung open and FBI Chief Inspector Jason Scott Jenks appeared in the doorway.

"Agent Swan. We need to have a little talk." His deep commanding voice made his form all the more impressive.

Nodding weakly, Bella felt her heart sink to her stomach.

"Let's step into my office," moved away from the door, holding it open, and motioned her in. "Please take a seat. I'd like to ask you some questions."

She nodded again, not trusting herself to speak. Jason Jenks, the Chief Inspector of Operations in the Protective Services Unit (PSU), was an intimidating man, intimidating in size, tall and dark, but even more intimidating in his direct approach. He was the type of man that would look you straight in the eye and know exactly what you were thinking.

"Now, tell me agent Swan, how long has it been since you started working here?"

"It's been..," she broke off and cleared her throat then started again. "Twelve weeks, sir."

As she spoke she kept her eyes fixed on the man that was her boss. Hs appearance was precise and professional. The creases in his suit were crisp. Every strand of hair was neatly in its place and his finger nails were carefully manicured into perfection. Bella had never felt more rumpled before in her life.

"I see, and before that you took some time off for personal reasons, is that correct?," Jenks asked and started rummaging through some papers that were spread out on his wooden desk.

"Uhm, yes, I took about four months off after I finished my training. I…uhm… There was an accident; I lost someone close to me in a… uhm… motorcycle crash. "

Bella felt herself stutter as she racked her brain to come up with a suitable answer. His questions confused her. Wasn't this covered in her personnel file?! What was the purpose of this conversation?!

"Do you enjoy working for the bureau?"

She considered her answer carefully. "There are times when it's frustrating, but for the most part, yes," she said tactfully still not sure where his questions were leading.

He laughed. "Nice answer, Swan. Now, I have been told you have the potential of becoming a damn fine agent. Time to live up to that claim, don't you think?"

It was not a question. It was an unmistakable order.

"Someone has been calling here asking for you... some old friend of yours. It's nothing too exciting, some spoiled rich kid that needs babysitting, but the assignment is yours if you want it."

Bella sucked in a breath quickly as realization hit her. This meeting had nothing to do with her inability to clock in on time in the mornings, but everything to do with her future career within the bureau. No more desk duty and limited assignments. The time had finally come for her to do some actual field work.

"What do you say Swan?! The assignment is yours if you want it?"

"I'm all in, sir…. I mean, chief… I mean, when do I start, chief? "

"How about right now," Chief Inspector Jason Jenks suggested, turning to his computer and punching in some keys. "I've got the case file ready and waiting for you."

He spun the screen around for Bella to see.

"I believe you're already familiar with the Cullen Medical Cooperation and the Voltera Biotech Inc."

.

.xXx. .xXx. .xXx.

**#104**

_You are MINE, You belong to me! Your need to belong will be fulfilled only through me. You are my own dear possession, and with me you will find true love and care._

**Note #**104, yet another bible inspired quote, was written on the backside on the underside of the content tag from the dry cleaners.

.xXx. .xXx. .xXx.

.

Edward was running late for his lunch date with Alice, but to his defense she hadn't given him much time to work with. She had called him measly 45 minutes ago ordering (not asking) him to join her for lunch. Alice had someone she wanted him to meet and she was not taking no for an answer.

Hands in pockets and hoodie pulled low over his face Edward paid for his cab and briskly walked across the street towards the entrance of the casual but somewhat upscale restaurant. The feeling of being watched was immensely strong, and gave him goose bumps.

Once inside he was led upstairs to a private room with a magnificent view of the busy city below.

His sister was already seated at a table by the dark tinted panorama window and she wasn't alone. Edward gave the stranger a quick once over as stepped inside the room.

It was a woman, a young, fresh-faced looking one at that…

"Dammit Alice!," he swore under his breath. This was so not a good time to be playing matchmaker, surely even his hopelessly romantic sister must realize that.

His life was complicated enough as it was, without adding some girl into the mix. Not that the girl looked unattractive or anything, quite the opposite actually… She appeared to be quite a stunner, in a sharp, edgy sort of way; a pale beauty with delicate features and unruly jet black hair that fell just below her chin in choppy strands. Alice knew how to pick them, he had to give her credit for that, but he had no plans to re-enter the dating scene anytime soon.

The last woman he had 'dated' had fled the field after finding a blood stained voodoo doll, complete strategically placed needles, in her mailbox. The Voodoo doll incident had happened after weeks of harassment and threats so he didn't blame her. He would have done the same if the situation had been reversed. Besides stalker or no stalker, his strange work hours and heavy workload alone were reasons enough to send any girl running screaming in the opposite direction.

He must have zoned out for a second or two, because when he became aware of his surroundings again, his sister was waving her hands over her head in a not-so-subtle way to get his attention.

Edward heaved a great mental sigh. Dwelling upon memories of the past was not going to help him out of his present dilemma.

"I'm sorry!," he apologized as he neared the table. "I'm beyond late, I know. The cab got stuck. Apparently I have terrible traffic karma."

"Don't worry about it, brother dearest," Alice said, pulling him down in the empty chair beside her. "You just gave us more time to talk about you behind your back, that's all," she added, sharing a conspiratorial smile with the woman across the table.

Edward groaned inwardly but kept his expression neutral. "Aren't you going to introduce me to your friend, Alice?," he suggested with a quick glance at the stranger.

A pair of dark sunglasses hid her eyes, but what part of her face the glasses didn't conceal was appealing and so utterly familiar that he couldn't help staring at her.

"Edward, I want you to meet the latest addition to our extended family, Arizona Belle Hawkins, B for short. She is going to be your shadow from now on. B meet Edward, your new ... uhm... client… assignment... work case or whatever you want you call him. "

"Oooh, I'm sure I can think of something," the brunette replied with a dry, rasping little laugh. "It's good to see you again, Edward, though I wish it was under better circumstances."

"Better circumstances?!," he repeated her words dumbly. "I'm sorry, but I don't think I remember… "

"Would it trig your memory if I put you in handcuffs and escort you out of here under gunpoint?," she asked, lifting her hand to remove her sunglasses.

"Bella?!," he spat in recognition. "Officer Black? Oh my gosh, your hair… I didn't recognize you! "

* * *

**Disclaimer**

All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

I do not in any way profit from this story and that all creative rights to the Twilight characters belong to their original creator, Stephenie Meyer.

The plot line though is my own brainchild, so please don't steal it. I worked hard to come up with it! (Really, I did.)

No copying or reproduction of this work is permitted without my express written authorization. Copyright 2010 by Miraline.


	4. Chapter 4 Flashback

**AN: knocks on screen Is anyone out there reading this? I love to write, but feedback rock!**

**This chapter will give you some backstory...**

_**Enjoy!**_

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**Chapter 4 - Flashback**

**.  
**

.xXx . xXx . xXx . xXx.

_**7 months earlier**_

_**Indiana University Hospital**_

.xXx . xXx . xXx . xXx.

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_**News Flash:**__Rizla Suzuki driver__Jacob Black__ is airlifted to hospital with a 'neck injury' following an accident in __qualifying for the Indianapolis Grand Prix._

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.xXx . xXx . xXx . xXx.

The dark starless night sky outside made a striking contrast to the fluorescent lights of the waiting room. The young woman's features were so pale and colorless that she looked more like a ghost than living flesh and blood. Staring blindly into the splashing rain, she didn't hear the approaching footsteps.

"Isabella?" A voice spoke abruptly to the slumped form in the chair by the window. "You really should try and stay alert at a time like this."

Not even bothering to wipe her tears away, Bella stood up on wobbly legs and faced the newcomer.

"Renee, what are you doing here?"

"I came as soon as I heard. It's all over the news. I'm your mother, you should have called me."

The older woman's embrace was a firm one, but it brought no comfort or warmth to Bella.

"I…didn't think…I mean, there was no time…," she stumbled over her words then stopped and sighed. "You're right I'm sorry, I should have called."

"You poor thing, you look like you're in a daze. Do you know anything yet? How long has he been in the operating room?"

Glancing at the clock on the wall Bella swallowed thickly. "About four hours. It's really bad this time, Renee. He might not...they don't know if…," she couldn't finish her sentence due to the tears that threatened to overwhelm her.

Just then a nurse appeared in the doorway and quietly asked for Mrs. Jacob Black. The words were spoken with such urgency that it only took half a second for the Bella to realize the nature of the news that was about to come.

The trauma surgeon explained in _a_ professional and kind manner that they had preformed multiple surgeries including an emergency procedure_ to reduce brain_ swelling. The patient's ruptured spleen had been removed and the fracture to his first lumbar vertebrae (his neck) had been stabilized with pins and rods.

"But he… he will make it through this though, won't he?" Bella questioned, feeling lightheaded with all the new information she had received. Her husband was in a coma and breathing through a respirator but at least he was breathing, at least he was still alive.

"It's too soon to tell. The next couple of days are going to be critical."

"I see," she nodded slowly. "Can I see him?"

"Of course. I don't mean to alarm you Mrs. Black, but the _extent of his injuries are quite_ severe. The odds are not in his favor. "

.

.xXx . xXx . xXx . xXx.

_**KOMO NEWS**__ can report that the medical condition of motorcycle road racing mega star, Jacob Black is still critical. Black was rushed into hospital 10 hours ago after his motorcycle veered of the Circuit, during the Indianapolis Grand Prix and crashed__ into a concrete wall. The collision has supposedly left __the Rizla Suzuki driver__ in a coma with a broken neck and a fractured skull. The next 48 hours will be critical for his recovery._

.xXx . xXx . xXx . xXx.

.

Edward Cullen first heard about the accident on the radio while he was driving home from a Friday night baseball game_. _Some motor sport fanatic late-night-host, spoke in shocked disbelief about the crash that had landed the young racing star in hospital. The following week the news about the accident was all over the media.

No sportsman in the history of motorcycle racing had ever achieved as much, as quickly, and at such a tender age as Jacob Black. He first came to the attention of the American public when he became the youngest driver to ever claim a MotoGP World Championship point.

Born in Forks, Washington, Jacob began riding motorcycles as a pre-teen. At the age of thirteen he was competing with and beating drivers twice his age on the dirt tracks of the Pacific Northwest. His dedication and hard work eventually landed him a lucrative contract with Paul Denning's well-known and hugely successful Rizla Suzuki Team.

Edward, however, would always remember this kid as the scrawny boy from the Quileute Reservation who wrapped his bike around a lamppost outside Forks Motel and Liquor store.

No, scratch that, Edward would always remember Jacob Black as the guy who stole (and eventually married) Edward's high school sweetheart Isabella Swan.

Bella had been Edwards first love and his first heartbreak.

They dated secretly throughout the better part of their junior year at Forks High School. Secretly, because 17-year-old Bella was kept under strict surveillance by her over-protective father, who also happened to be the police chief in town. The girl had not been allowed to have a boyfriend, or much of a social life outside of school either for that matter. Chief Swan watched over his only daughter like a hawk.

The thrill of sneaking around had been intense, exciting and utterly addictive...

Their whirlwind romance lasted seven months and two days (a long time, at that age) before combusting in a blaze of hate and fury. The event that marked the beginning of the end went down one fateful evening in May. Someone, Black most likely (although Edward had never been able to prove that theory), gave Chief Swan an anonymous tip about a suspicious looking car parked by the meadow behind the old playground.

Needles to say, Edward was caught with his pants down and his hand in the cookie jar (Bella's cookie jar or cupcake-patterned panties as it so happened) and subsequently found himself being escorted home in handcuffs with a gun pressed to the small of his back.

The relationship had been doomed from that day on. Chief Swan had been livid to the point of contemplating lynching. Bella had not been allowed to return to school for the remaining weeks of the school year and their summer was spent… well, hundreds and hundreds of miles apart... thanks to some unspoken agreement between the parental units.

Bella had been whiskered away for an extended visit with her mom in Arizona while Edward found himself being shipped off to the Horack institute in Vienna for a summer music scholarship he had never applied for, let alone never heard of in the first place. It was no doubt his father's ass-backward way of trying to diffuse an otherwise tense situation.

When Edward finally returned home, after seven very long and cold weeks in Europe, he found Isabella, his Bella, in the arms of another guy.

Apparently A LOT of things had changed in the life of Isabella Swan over the summer.

Not only had she turned eighteen, but she also seemed to have found a second home on the Quileute Reservation_, _acquired a taste for fast motorcycles and gotten herself her first real public boyfriend. A boyfriend that was not only approved of, but, astonishingly, seemed to have been chosen by none other than the Chief himself.

Obviously the seven months they had shared hadn't meant as much to Bella as they had to Edward. What hurt the most was the way she happily complied with her father's wishes with seemingly no willpower or mind of her own.

The headstrong, stubborn, fiercely independent girl he once knew and loved was gone. In her place was a cold distant stranger. It was like she wasn't even the same person anymore.

Anyone with an ounce of sense could see that _'_biker boy' wasn't a suitable boyfriend. The kid was a poser, a horndog and an idiot…. An idiot for not having the sense to cherish the girl the way she deserved…

Edward would always remember Jacob Black as the guy he beat to a bloody pulp behind the bleachers of Forks High School's football field after having caught him in a lip lock with some skanky blonde cheerleader, who most definitely wasn't his girlfriend.

Without ceremony, Edward punched him square in the jaw, sending the filthy dog sprawling to the ground in a tangle of limbs.

Normally Edward wasn't one to start fights_, _especially not sober while in public with the whole baseball team watching. He knew better than to get into any kind of physical altercation on school grounds, but the smug bastard was caught cheating and didn't even have the decency to look guilty.

One punch wasn't nearly enough. Biker boy still managed to look smug even with a nosebleed. Needless to say the dispute quickly burgeoned into a full blown fist fight; a fist fight that landed Edward with two fractured bones in his hand and a suspension from the baseball team for the remainder of the season.

'Biker boy' ended up with a concussion and a thoroughly mangled face but was back on his stupid bike less than two weeks later, with an if possible even more devoted girlfriend cheering for him from the sideline.

Any attempt at approaching Bella was a lost cause after that point… she never forgave Edward or spoke to him ever again.

.

.xXx . xXx . xXx . xXx.

_**Posted on January 27**__**th**__** 2010 11:28 by TMZ staff**_

_TMZ has learned that two_-_time World Grand Prix Champion and__ Road Racing Legend Jacob Black has died in hospital as a result of a serious head injury __sustained during the Indianapolis Grand Prix._

_Story developing… _

.xXx . xXx . xXx . xXx.

.

**The Memorial Service**

_**Sunday, February 1th, 2010**_

The memorial service for Jacob Black was held at First Beach in La Push on Quileute land_._ It was a private function to which only relatives, close friends and former colleagues had been invited.

It was supposed to be a small intimate 'affair', just like the Black/Swan wedding had been mere eight months earlier on that very same beach. The media however, had a different idea…

The sound of helicopters could be heard in the far distance more than four hours before the scheduled 'event'. Hordes of reporters and onlookers had gathered to witness the final farewell, causing a roadblock, which had to be dispersed by police.

When the actual inv

ited guests arrived, hours after the first helicopters had flown over the area, crowd control fences had to be brought in to provide at least some degree of privacy.

The guests were to be seated on folding chairs arranged in circular rows on the beach facing the ocean. There was no coffin, no urn, just a motorcycle and a podium for people to stand behind and talk about and share anecdotes about the deceased.

Edward was not sure what he was doing there, but he was there all the same, paying respect to a frenemy he had not spoken to in years… He could have done without it, to be honest! Revisiting the past is not always a pleasant experience. Sometimes it's better to just not look back.

His presence had been requested though… or rather his family's presence had been requested. His parents were highly respected members of the community of Forks WA.

His mother had earned herself a place in the town history books by being crowned Miss Washington twenty something years ago, making her somewhat of a local celebrity. Outside of Forks, however, her name was commonly associated with the interior design trade publication that she co-edited.

His father was perhaps best known for his accumulated wealth as the co-founder of a highly successful biotech company, but simultaneously he also held the position as the Chief of Surgery at Forks General Hospital; a position that came with both social status and obligations toward the local community, meaning his parents had a social calendar filled to the brim with town functions and social events that the good doctor and his wife were expected to attend.

This particular weekend though, Dr. Carlisle Cullen had a prior commitment (to speak at an international medical conference) that kept him not only out-of-state but out of the country at the time of the memorial service.

Esme Cullen had, in her husband's absence, insisted on having her youngest son staying with her over the weekend. Edward felt he had no choice but to comply to his mothers wishes. Esme knew her children well; she knew when to push and when to back off, when to punish and when to praise. More important yet, she was a master manipulator. One would have never expected so much persistent determination from such a soft spoken, polite and peaceful person.

You don't go against momma Esme if you know what's good for you!

So despite a great deal of reluctance, Edward packed his black Armani suit and got on a plane to spend 'quality time' with his mother. As much as he loved Esme he could think of better ways to spend his Sunday afternoon. The hoopla surrounding his hometown the day of the service was macabre to say the very least.

Edward felt like a vulture emoting for a tragedy that wasn't his own, especially after having witnessed the arrival of the family of the deceased.

Twelve police officers on motorcycles escorted the black vehicles into the area. The young widow's petite frame racked with quiet sobs as her sister-in-law helped her out of the car and led her to her front row seat. The crowd shifted enough for Edward to get a full view of her and he stared, unable to look away, unable to look directly at her, like a totally fascinating eclipse you know might burn your retinas out.

He had not seen or heard anything from to Bella since the day of their High School graduation all those years ago but Edward had to admit, she still held a certain fascination for him.

At that moment all he could think of was how unfair life was. What kind of God could stand by and watch such a beautiful woman cry?

.

**.xXx . xXx . xXx . xXx. **

_**Blind Item - Revealed…sort of…**_

_Last month, we posted a blind Item stating,_

'_Which newly married speed-loving sport star defines cheating the same way Bill Clinton used to? The frisky sport star, who claims to be faithful, limits his interactions with his groupies to oral sex. You don't have to be a sports fan to recognize his name.'_

_Well, this month, we would like __to honor a great__ motorcycle legend_

_RIP Jacob __Black,_ _(1985__- 2010)__  
Two_-_time World Grand Prix Champion and__ Road Racing Legend._

_He was once involved with a beautiful woman who adored him (I'm sure you all saw the wedding pictures), this didn't stop him from having fun (again I'm sure you all saw the pictures)._

_Carpe Diem... Life is short, live it up while you can, you newer know when that concrete wall will hit you!_

_

* * *

_

**Disclaimer**

All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

I do not in any way profit from this story and that all creative rights to the Twilight characters belong to their original creator, Stephenie Meyer.

The plot line though is my own brainchild, so please don't steal it. I worked hard to come up with it! (Really, I did.)

No copying or reproduction of this work is permitted without my express written authorization. Copyright 2010 by Miraline.


	5. 105 Hi there stranger

**Chapter 5 – #105 - Hi there stranger**

**. x . X . O . X . x . x . X . O . X . x .**

**.**

**# 105**

_You can not run, you can not hide. You can not tell me what I feel inside._

**Note # 105 **wasspray painted across the hood of Edward's car in blood red paint.

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. x . X . O . X . x . x . X . O . X . x .

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_**Back to present…**_

_**.  
**_

Time: 11:43

"_Bella?!," he spat in recognition. "__Officer Black? Oh__ my gosh, your hair… I didn't recognize you! "_

"Yes, it's really me," the dark haired beauty finally admitted after what seemed like an eternity of silence. "Special Agent SWAN at your service, but call me B…. or Hawkins, if you prefer to keep some professional distance."

"That's her code name, Arizona Bell Hawkins. She's with the FBI now," Alice chimed in helpfully. "Isn't that great!"

"I'm part of the Protective Services Unit, PSU. I have been assigned to look into the threats made against you."

"What the hell, Alice! " Edward cursed, clearly not liking what he was hearing. "You went behind my back and called the freaking FBI?!"

"No, I called a friend, that's all," Alice shrugged, suddenly becoming very interested in the menu. "Look the have turkey burgers. I think I'll have one of those."

"Shouldn't I have a say in this?"

Alice looked up at him innocently and shrugged her shoulders. "In whether or not I should order turkey?! I don't think so!"

"You know what I mean. You can't make a decision like that without telling me first...," he clarified with an exasperated sigh.

"No offence...," he hastily added, catching Alice's and Bella's gazes.

"None taken."

"I'm sure you are a good agent and all… but I'm not sure you're the right person to tackle this."

"Why? Because I'm a woman? Or because we have history?"

"No… Well yeah, both actually… Should you even be working?…. I mean, It's a bit soon… after … well you know…"

"That's personal, and I never let personal issues affect my work. Neither should you. If you're questioning my professionalism I can assure you I graduated at the top of my class at the FBI Training Academy in Quantico. Your arrogant ass is lucky to have someone like me backing it up."

Edward's eyes narrowed in a glare, while Alice hastily clapped a hand over her mouth to hide a smile.

"Did you just call me arrogant? I'm pretty sure offending the person you're assigned to protect is not part of your job description, special agent…. Hawkins, was it?!."

"You're right. My job is to baby-sit your spoiled brat ass. If someone should feel offended it should be me," Bella stated with an amused raise of her eyebrow.

.

. x . X . O . X . x . x . X . O . X . x .

.

Edward _didn't eat or speak much throughout the_ lunch. He just sullenly picked at his food and let Alice handle the small talk, _a tasks she undertook with great_ diligence and enthusiasm.

She stayed on _safe topics, mostly_ gossiping about old high school acquaintances – listing off _which ones of their old friends that were engaged, _marriedor already divorced… Who among them that had popped out kids and how many… along with some juicer stories about boob jobs gone wrong and escalating pill popping habits.

As expected, some of the usual catching-up question were thrown around as well. Again Alice did most of the talking, but Bella did divulge a bit about her job, the travels she had done and how she had picked up martial art as a hobby in college. She dodged all personal questions though. Or well, all except one: the one about her father and his health issues.

"Some days are better than others," she answered truthfully when Alice carefully broached the subject. Charlie had always had a soft spot for the Cullen ladies and vice versa. She knew for a fact that both Esme and Alice sent him a Christmas cards every year without fail.

"But he's doing okay, considering the circumstances?," Alice inquired, probing further.

"Yes. He doesn't talk much anymore, but them again he always was a man of few words."

"I remember that," Alice nodded. "Your dad always knew how to get things done with a minimum of words and a maximum of effectivity." Then, after a moment of reflection, she added, "I'm sorry, it must be hard watching someone you love slowly _slip away before your eyes like that."_

"It is," Bella agreed with unfeigned emotion. "I _wish he wasn't such__ a stubborn_ old foe though. He doesn't want to be a burden, but I hate the idea of him wasting away in some _Floridian_ nursing home."

Edward's head snap up. "Chief Swan is in a nursing home?!," he asked, showing interest in the conversation for the first time since the food had been served. "What's wrong with him? Apart from being trigger happy and short tempered, I mean…"

Alice shook her head and sighed with annoyance. "Please ignore my jerk of a brother. He has no manners, what so ever. You don't have to tell him anything."

_"Edward, when my father resigned from his post as Chief of police all those years ago it was because of medical issues. Charlie has Alzheimer's_ disease_. I thought you already knew this, seeing as Dr. Cullen was the one making the diagnosis."_

_Edward actually looked a little taken aback at that. "I'm sorry, I had no idea,"_ he said, his eyes wide and his mouth in a slight frown.

_"_It was never something that was discussed around our dinner table._" Alice _shook her head vigorously. _"I only knew because I figured it out on my own. Dad takes the whole doctor/patient_ confidentiality thing very seriously, besides Edward was already off to college whe-…"

"It's okay Alice. No need to explain, I didn't mean to imply anything," Bella hurried to interject. "I have the utter most respect for Dr. Cullen and I owe him a great deal. If he hadn't stepped in and talked Charlie into seeking help, I don't know how we would have made it through."

"I really honestly had no idea," Edward repeated again.

"Well, now you know," Bella stated with more calmness than she felt. "Look, we got off on the wrong foot here today, but like I said I owe your father a very personal debt. Let me do this Edward, let me help you. Think of this as me returning a favor. "

Edward raised an eyebrow. "I'm sure a thank you note and some flowers would have been sufficient enough."

Bella had a sharp answer on the tip of her tongue, but the waitress chose that particular moment to interrupt them with coffee.

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. x . X . O . X . x . x . X . O . X . x .

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"Why don't you tell me about your situation, Edward," Bella suggested, taking a sip of her coffee.

"I'm sure my sister has already told you everything there is to know, she seems more than eager to blab my personal shit all over town."

Alice let out an indignant huff. "I haven't said anything that she won't find out from reading the police report," she protested with a shade of irritation.

"I've been told the basics but I rather hear the rest from you," Bella insisted with what she hoped was a reassuring smile. When he didn't respond she threw in some eye contact for good measure. BAD IDEA, she had forgotten how fucking green his eyes were.

As their meeting progressed two things had become excruciatingly clear. Firstly, Edward Cullen was surprisingly dismissive, hostile even. He would have never agreed to sit down and discuss his current stalker situation had he not been manipulated by his sister. Secondly, Edward Cullen appeared to be quite shaken up, more so then he would probably ever care to admit.

The silence stretched but Bella forced herself to hold his gaze, to wait it out.

"Fine," Edward finally relented, throwing up his hands into an exasperated shrug. "What do you want to know? I'm being threatened, watched and followed. I'm being harassed with daily phone calls, text messages and voice mails. I'm also receiving gifts and envelops with stalkerazzi photos and sick little messages. The other day I found an envelope inside my apartment, on my bed, on my f*ing pillow"

"No signs of forced entry?," Bella asked calmly, trying to keep her own voice devoid of emotion.

"Not really, no. The front door is a solid steel door with both a deadbolt lock and a cylindrical lock. There was this one window that I apparently must have forgotten to close properly, but there was a safety chain on it and besides it's the fifth floor and the fire escape is not accessible from the street."

"A solid front door is good but I would encourage you to consider putting metal bars on all the windows."

Edward made no articulate reply, but he muttered something about 'incarceration'.

"Well, it's either that or move somewhere safer for a while," Bella said as patiently as she could. "Tell me more about the envelope in your bedroom. And also, did you notice anything moved or missing in the apartment that day?"

"Nope. Everything was as I left it and nothing seemed amiss. Well, except for the window… and a toothbrush which I seem to have misplaced, but that's probably irrelevant…"

"Was there a note in the envelope, what did it say? I'd like to see it. Actually I'd like to see all of the items you have received, if that's okay?!"

"The police have them--," Edward started saying but, was interrupted by his sister's, "I have the notes right here--," They both silenced and glared at each other.

"Look, it doesn't matter. If the police have them, I'll see them eventually," Bella said trying to defuse the suddenly charged atmosphere.

"Edward, I think we should show her," Alice pleaded. "She'll have a much better idea what you're dealing with if she sees it with her own eyes."

His jaw tightened, but he didn't protest. Instead, he raised his hand in a wave and said from between clenched teeth, "Carry on, by all means."

"The NYPD has the originals, but I've helped Edward make scans and copies of some of the more creepy ones," Alice explained, rummaging through her messenger bag. After a few moments, she pulled out a thick black binder and put it on the table in front of Bella.

There were hundreds of different items in the binder. Bella flipped through the first few pages, examining them quickly but thoroughly. "This has been going on for almost six months?"

Edward nodded, affirming her question. "They were pretty tame in the beginning, creepy and disturbing yes, but nothing overly threatening."

"And you have no idea who it could be?"

"Not a clue. I have no enemies that I know of."

"I'll make a sizable wager that somewhere, someone is holding a grudge against you. Have you stepped on anyone's toes lately? A fling turned sour, perhaps?"

Edward closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose before repeating his previous answer. "Like I said, I have no enemies that I know of… male or female…"

Bella sensed his rising irritation and decided not to push any further. She spent the next five minutes looking at the notes and photos in silence. "Are these the most recent ones?," she asked as she reached the last page in the binder.

Edward answered with a resolute 'yes' but across the table Alice was shaking her head 'no'.

Bella looked between the two of them with narrowed eyes. When no explanation came she pushed her chair back and began collecting her things. "I'd like your permission to let our forensic team take a look at these letters," she said looking straight at Edward. "Not just the copies but the originals… all of them," she added to make sure he understood. "I'm going to need your full cooperation, that's the only way I can help you."

"I still say this is a waste of time, if you ask me," Edward grumbled, fidgeting in his chair. "The police have worked months on this with no result."

"Yeah, well, I work with people specialized in handling these kind of situations. It's not like you have anything to loose at this point. Think about it and get back to me," Bella suggested as she got to her feet and prepared to leave.

"Alice it was really nice seeing you, we should get together more often," she added with a voice that she hoped sounded calm and confident. On the inside, however, she was nowhere near calm or confident. Her mind was racing with questions, plans and worries. She wanted nothing more than to get right down to work.

.

. x . X . O . X . x . x . X . O . X . x .

.

_Office # 322 at the FBI New York headquarter_

_**Time: 13:56**_

'Edward Anthony Cullen'

Almost unconsciously, Special Agent Bella Swan repeated the name out loud as she typed it into the search field and hit the enter key.

The name felt almost foreign on her tongue, like something out of some distant memory.

She repeated it again…

"Edward Anthony Cullen'

There was a time when the mere mention of that name would have sent shivers down her spine, the kind of shivers that leaves you tingling with anticipation in all the right places. This was back in the day when she was still a school girl and new to the physical responses that happens when our body recognizes "cute guy" before our brain does.

As a teenager she had had a somewhat introverted personality – always walking with her head down, speaking only when spoken to and only contributing to a conversation when and if it interested her.

Her favorite hobby back then (and still) was reading, which often made her totally oblivious to her surroundings because she always had her nose in a book.

She had been a lit geek, a bookworm and overall, uncool. She owned more books than clothes and paid little to none interest in fashion, makeup and boys. That all changed though, the year she moved to live with her father and subsequently switched school at the beginning of her junior year in high school.

Her first encountered with the hurricane that was Edward Cullen took place in the waiting room at Forks police station mere two days after her arrival in town.

Edward was a force of nature - or, as Charlie would put it, a piece of work. He was the rich kid who could get away with anything due to his father's money... Well almost anything, anyway…

On that particular day, a rainy Sunday afternoon, Edward had been brought down to the police station after being caught pulling off a sloppy high speed parallel parking job that involved an illegal U-turn and two wheels on the sidewalk; a maneuver that caused a teenaged boy on a bike to crash head first into a lamp post. Unfortunately the lamppost in question was situated right across the road from the diner where all five members of the local police force ate their lunch.

Bella had, not too surprisingly, been completely oblivious to the whole lamppost incidence. To her defense she had been busy struggling with an upturned umbrella as she walked past the crash site. The weather had been unusually crappy that weekend and the only reason she braved the rain at all was because she was anxious to get her hands on the keys to her new car – er, scratch that – her new-but-old car. It was a red 1953 Chevy pick-up truck, a homecoming gift of sort from Chief Swan. It was slow like a dump truck and sturdy like a band wagon but at least the rusty old relic would save her from the embarrassment of being escorted to school in her father's police cruiser… and hopefully keep her out of the rain…

Bella was still struggling with her drenched umbrella as she cold, wet and windblown, used her hip to push her way through the doors of her father's workplace.

Entering the room rear-end-first was of course a disaster waiting to happen. As she turned around she accidentally bumped into a display stand full of flyers and leaflets. Dropping what she had in her hands –her umbrella and a couple of books– she scurried to save the glossy brochures. It was a maneuver doomed to fail, not necessary because her reflexes weren't fast enough, but because when her umbrella hit the floor it popped open with enough force to push over a cow… or in this case sweep a small-framed seventeen year girl off her feet.

She landed in a mess on the marble floor right in front of a highly amused Edward Cullen.

She had no idea who he was back then, in fact all she knew about him was what she saw then and there. The verdict; never in her seventeen year old life had she ever seen anything quite as stunning or mesmerizing as the guy handcuffed to the chair before her.

The hair, the eyes, the presence… It was like everything about him was designed to lure her in. She stared at him like an awe-struck child. Time stood still for what seemed like forever and then suddenly she heard applause and felt herself turn fiery red, from the very roots of her hair to the tips of her toes.

The guy clapped his hands together in a mocking fashion and smirked. SMIRKED! That bastard. He was if possible even more gorgeous when he smirked.

That was the day Bella Swan fell head over heels for Edward Cullen.

She didn't know it at the time, but the attraction was mutual and instantaneous, like a magnet pulling the two of them towards one another. The rest was as they say history…

Shaking her head to rid herself of the memories, special agent Swan turned her attention back to the search results on the screen before her. Edward had earned himself a nice collection of speeding tickets over the years.

Clearly some things never change…

He always did drive like a maniac. According the records he had received insurance money for car repairs on three separate occasions. He currently owned two cars, a Ford Cougar and a Jaguar. She found no mention of the silver Volvo that had been his first car back in Forks all those years ago.

Bella had lost her virginity in the backseat of that Volvo. Edward had been her first in EVERYTHING. kiss, date, lover… He played guitar in a rock band and knew how to use his thick long fingers. He drank like a fish, smoked like a chimney and loved like a lothario.

Chief Swan hated him.

Bella loved him…. or used to love him, past tense... these days she barely though of him at all…

She made a few notes in her notepad and opened up a new window where she proceeded to log into the FBI's National Information Center database. She did a few cross searches and dug up some more information.

Edward had majored in classical music composition at Columbia University in New York. Nowadays he earned his living as a writer/composer of music for advertising. This was information she already knew.

She had no problem finding his income and tax reports. His financial situation was stable. From what she could tell, he owned a quite impressive stock portfolio worth a shitload of money. He also owned a studio apartment by the East river and co-owned another piece of property in Downtown Brooklyn. He lived alone and was seemingly single. That's what Alice had told her anyway and the records concurred. She found no records of marriage or children, but his name appeared as godparent to a Elliott William Cullen – his nephew she assumed. Alice had mentioned being an aunt to a cute little baby boy.

She ran Edward's name through another couple of non-public databases but the only findings she made were basic stuff that she was fairly certain the police report already covered. Her local police contact had promised she would have access to the files and everything they had on the case before the week was over. In the meanwhile she resorted to Google.

Muddling through a chain of posts on various social networking sites, she found a profile for a Eddie Masen, who according to the bio was a NY based musician with a standing gig every Thursday night at a place called 'Forever Dawn'. She knew Masen was an old family name and besides she recognized Edward from the pictures. She also recognized the name of the bass player that was mentioned as his 'partner in crime' --Jasper Whitlock.

If she remembered correctly, Jasper or Jazz as most people had called him back then, had lived with the Cullen's all through his high school years. He had been Edwards band mate and Alice's boyfriend and apparently still was judging by the photos in his Facebook profile.

There was a wealth of links, pictures, and information to browse through. She found numerous photos of Edward and his closest circle of friends. Most of them were candid snapshots of faces and places. There were a few drunken blurry crowd shots too but the one she liked the most was a photo of Edward sitting on the edge of a stage, toying with a guitar pick and staring right into the camera.

The unruly boy with the messy, bronze like hair had certainly grown into his looks. While he still was a bit 'baby-faced', the facial hair made him look rugged and ever more… well, gorgeous to be honest. Meeting him over lunch had only confirmed what she had already suspected. She would always feel that magnetic pull, the hungry tug, the singsong in her blood around him…. no matter how many years that passed…

This was going to be a tricky assignment for more reasons than one.

Bella didn't realize she had zoned out again until there was a knock on the door and she was brought out of her haze by a voice who identified himself as "ME."

Reluctantly she closed the browser window and looked up from her laptop, only to discover that "ME" was no other than her nosy co-worker, agent Seth Clearwater.

Seth had transferred to FBI from the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit. He was quite young, but had all the qualities that made a good agent. He was an excellent researcher (a more pc term for hacker) and an even better friend. He always stopped by for a chat whenever he had a few minutes to spare.

"So how did it go?! Seth asked cautiously, as he leaned against the doorframe to her office.

"How did what go?" she replied feigning innocence.

"Your 'lunch date' with that spoiled rich kid," he said, making quotation marks with his fingers.

Bella groaned. "You know about my assignment?"

"I'm your new partner, baby. Didn't Jenks tell you?"

* * *

**Disclaimer**

All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

I do not in any way profit from this story and that all creative rights to the Twilight characters belong to their original creator, Stephenie Meyer.

The plot line though is my own brainchild, so please don't steal it. I worked hard to come up with it! (Really, I did.)

No copying or reproduction of this work is permitted without my express written authorization. Copyright 2010 by Miraline.


	6. 106 Disturbing development

**AN: This is a dialog heavy chapter. Lots of plot and character details.**

Updated 2010-05-25: Nothing major, just corrected a date that was wrong

**.**

**Chapter 6 - #106 - Disturbing development**

_._

_**Note #106**_

"_The pain of the mind is worse than the pain of the body"*_

_*Publilius Syrus _

. o .O . o . o . O . o . o .O . o . o . O . o .

.

_ Time: 14:20  
_

_.  
_

"Alright, Alright, I'm outside already!" Edward whined at his sister as she practically shoved him through the door. "Alice, you can be such a pain in the ass, sometimes..."

"I refuse to stand by and let you hide indoors when it's such a beautiful day outside. I know you are still shook up about what happened the other day, we all are, but Edward honey, we have done all we can to prevent it from happening again."

"So now I'm OVERREACTING, is THAT what you're saying?"

"No, but if I were to google "PARANOIA" I bet your picture would be the first one to show up," Alice chuckled and rolled her eyes. Then, with years of insight, she added, "I know those last photos must have brought back some not so pleasant memories... but I ain't never gonna let... what happened that other time...happen again."

Edward whipped around and gave Alice an unusually nasty look. "You all promised me you'd NEVER bring that up ever again. I don't want to talk about it. How many times do I have to tell you that?"

"Alright, my mistake, I'm sorry. Hey, how about we kidnap our nephew and take him out for a walk," she suggested, quickly changing the subject.

.

. o .O . o . o . O . o . o .O . o . o . O . o .

.

_**Office # 322 at the FBI New York headquarter**_

_**.  
**_

_"I'm your new partner, __baby. Didn't Jenks tell__ you?"_

_.  
_

Junior agent Seth Clearwater entered the room and let his stack of papers and folders hit Bella's desk with a loud thud.

"Partner, really? Two field agents on a simple stalker case? That seems a little over the top," Bella commented, closing the lid of her laptop. "No bodily harm, no broken bones or maimed kittens. From what I've gathered this stalker appears to be relatively harmless."

"The Chief seems to be of a different opinion," Seth shrugged.

Bella narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "What exactly did he tell you?,"

"Nothing really. We got a delivery from the NYPD about two hours ago. You weren't here so the chief told me to take a look at it, that's all."

"Two hours ago? Why didn't you tell me sooner! " Bella huffed and glared with narrowed eyes at Seth. "It's not cool to withhold information like that."

"I'm telling you now aren't I," he replied innocently, pushing the papers across the table like a peace offering of sorts. "Quite interesting reading, actually. Did you know that this Cullen guy is one of 'THE CULLENS', as in the founders of Voltera Biotech Inc?"

"Co-founder and yes, I know who he is. I have met the Cullens. Dr. Carlisle Cullen and my father go way back."

"So, there is a personal connection," Seth asked with a frown.

Heaving a sigh, Bella crossed her arms and looked out the window. "Sort of... Don't worry, the chief knows and approves of it. I assume that's why this case landed on my desk in the first place."

"Look, I'm not trying to pull the rug from under you, or steal your thunder or anything like that, but you are going to need my help with this one."

"Is that so?"

"If you want to be thorough, yes, which I believe you do. There is a ton of material to work through and we haven't even received the complete police report yet. We're still waiting for the phone logs, the surveillance tapes… There are supposedly over 300 voicemails and I don't know how many photographs… "

"Alright, alright, I get it," Bella interrupted, holding up her hand, indicating for him to stop. "Scanning month's worth of surveillance tapes will no doubt be tedious. If you are volunteering your time, then I would be a fool to say no, wouldn't I? Besides I was already planning on asking you to look into these 'allegedly' untraceable text messages-…"

This time it was Seth's turn to interrupt. "First of all, there is no such thing as 'untraceable' text messages and secondly, I suggest you let someone from the Behavioral Analysis Unit take a look at this stuff as well. I wouldn't be surprised if there is more to this case than what you see on the surface."

"Eh, okay…" Bella's eyebrows furrowed. "Why do I get a feeling you know more about this then you're letting on?"

"All I'm saying is that you should keep an open mind. This guy is loaded, right?. His father's pharmaceutical business is both lucrative as well as high profiled. This could be an elaborate blackmailing scheme… or… I don't know, some sort of payback for a business transaction gone wrong, or something… Think about it. Money is a powerful lure."

"What is this, psych 101?"

"Something like that. Like I said, this stuff," he paused with a sweeping gesture at the documents piling up on Bella's desk. "…makes for interesting reading, I suggest you start with the photographs."

"The photographs? I've already seen copies of the most recent ones. Did I miss something?"

"That depends… Did you know Cullen did a few modeling jobs while in college?"

"I know Mrs. Cullen used to model to pay her way through college and I wouldn't be surprised if Rosalie did the same… but you're talking about Edward, aren't you?"

Seth answered by nodding his head in affirmation. "The one and only."

"Okay, well that's news to me. I know he was in a TV commercial for a local tire store as a kid but I fail to see what this has to do with anything,"

"Why don't you see for yourself," Seth suggested and slid a red envelope across the table.

Bella picked it up, pulled out its contents and looked down to find herself holding a contact sheet with 36 extraordinarily detailed black and white thumbnail prints of a semi naked male model that held a striking resemblance to a young Edward Cullen.'"

But it couldn't be — no, there was no way…

"Holy stalker Batman ... I mean… um... These are not real, are they?"

"I don't know, you tell me. They don't appear to have been tampered with and according to what the Cullens told the police they might very well be authentic. I believe those photos are the reason why they want to get the FBI involved."

A billion questions swam through Bella's head all at once, but before she could voice any of them the door flung open and a head appeared in the doorway.

"Swan, Clearwater, the Chief want us in his office, now," Newton, the administrative assistant, bellowed in a commanding, but squeaky voice. "Bring the Cullen file with you."

Seth groaned but got to his feet and quickly began gathering the papers they would need to debrief their boss.

Bella felt herself move in jerky movements, her mind still occupied with processing the information she had just been given. Photographs still in hand she turned to Seth and asked, "What do you mean they "MIGHT" be authentic? These are no amateur photos. I'd say they were done in a studio by a professional. Surely Edward must know when and where these were taken."

"He does..." Seth answered, snatching the photos out of her hand. "Kascade Studio, June 2003, but apparently Cullen never knowingly posed for any of them," he added, dragging her unceremoniously towards the door as he spoke. "That's the catch here... They claim he was drugged."

"Drugged?" Bella nearly stumbled as a tidal wave of conflicted emotions hit her. This was a twist she had not expected, although perhaps she should have. FBI Chief Inspector Jason Jenks rarely ever paid personal interest in something as trivial as simple stalker case.

.

* * *

**_AN: And this is where I leave you until I get some reviews. Let me know what ya think and I'll give you the backstory behind those nude photos._**

* * *

.

**Disclaimer**

All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

I do not in any way profit from this story and that all creative rights to the Twilight characters belong to their original creator, Stephenie Meyer.

The plot line though is my own brainchild, so please don't steal it. I worked hard to come up with it! (Really, I did.)

No copying or reproduction of this work is permitted without my express written authorization. Copyright 2010 by Miraline.


	7. 107 A twisted tale

AN: First off, thank you all for the reviews, alerts and hits on the last chapter!

I have a long update for you, my longest as of yet. This chapter is quite heavy on FBI task force mumbo jumbo and probably a bit overloaded with information. If anyone needs a recap of the storyline please feel free to request one, same thing goes if you have any questions. Don't hesitate to ask.

Speaking of questions…

Yes, the The Protective Services Unit is a real working unit. I've done my googling. PSU exists, but their main responsibility is to provide protective support for the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon Building. So I'm not sure they would be even the slightest interested in a simple stalker case…

Yes, there will be blood, some bad language and violence, but the M rating is mostly because of the lemons I'm planning to incorporate into the story.

No, I'm not a motor sports fan in any shape or form. My knowledge about motorcycle racing is pretty much non existent.

Now onto the story… Enjoy!

**Chapter 7 - #107 - A twisted tale**

**. x . X . x . x . X . x . x . X . x**

.

**#107**

_You got wounds; I got salt, or better yet acid. _

_It will sting; it will burn like ice on fire._

_I will pull your nails out, ONE by ONE, very slowly._

_If pain is the only true thing you're capable of showing me,_

_then I'll have it tenfold. _

The third threat of the day was delivered with a bouquet of black Roses.

.

. x . X . x . x . X . x . x . X . x

.

_Time: 15:03_

.

At 15:03 p.m. Edward found himself in the dog park with a soggy tennis ball in his hand giving Jasper a play-by-play account of his meeting with special agent Swan.

When Alice suggested a quiet walk around the block with their nephew she conveniently forgot to mention that her fiancé Jasper and his Rottweiler, Bentley, would be tagging along as well. Not that Edward minded the extra company, quite the opposite actually; safety in numbers felt like the key to survival these days. However, it was darn near impossible to think clearly with a dog barking and running in circles around your legs and Jasper's questions were giving him a headache.

"Hey, don't give me that look Jasper. I still think it's a bad idea."

"And all I'm saying is that I don't understand your reasoning."

"What's there to not understand," Edward grumbled in frustration as he watched the dog scramble through the shrubbery for the ball. "It's not that I don't think she'll do a good job but she's a WOMAN..."

"And you don't work with women because….?"

"I just don't think this will work. You know what happens if I as much as talk to anyone of the female gender. Bam! I get another one of those sick little notes and the lady in question gets a decapitated Barbie doll smeared with blood-red paint in her mail or something...."

"Right, and your solution is what? To live like an eremite and never speak to a woman ever again?"

"I don't know... I…"

Just then Bentley returned again and Edward was glad for the respite. He engaged in a bit of a tug-of-war with the dog over the soggy tennis ball hoping Jasper would drop the subject if he stalled long enough. It didn't work of course. Jasper had a way of always seeing right through the B.S. to the truth of the issue.

"You're not really mad at Alice, are you?" It was more a statement than a question.

Edward shook his head. "I don't much like it when people go behind my back like that. I didn't know they still kept in touch. I didn't even know Bella was working for FBI."

"Neither did I, to be honest, but I think this is something that could work in your advantage."

"I don't want her to get involved in this mess. There must be other options." Edward sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Whatever happened to that security guard Carlisle wanted me to hire? You know that bodybuilder from Seattle? He seemed perfect for the job. "

"He didn't pass the security control. Turns out he had a criminal record for theft and insurance fraud."

"Ouch!"

"Yeah, ouch! If you really don't think Bella or B or whatever she calls herself, is the right person for this, I'm sure we could ask for someone else. The decision is yours… but wouldn't you rather work with someone you know than a total stranger? "

"I can't claim to know her anymore. It's been years. I don't know if you recall, but we didn't part ways under the best of terms."

"Right, I was there, I remember," Jasper said, with a light, but respectful chuckle. "Look, I'm just saying that a female FBI agent sounds like a way more attractive option than one of those King Kong sized bodyguards, that's all." He paused to let his words sink in before going in for the kill. "Alice told me special agent Swan looks all fit and fabulous these days."

"Jasper!"

"What? Alice's words not mine."

.

. x . X . x . x . X . x . x . X . x

.

_**Back at the FBI Headquarters…**_

.

"Yes, rohypnol or maybe GHB, that would be my guess too…," Seth Clearwater nodded as he flipped through the pages in his notebook. "Let's see, the year was 2003, Edward and his brother....eh.... What's his name again?"

"His name is Emmett," Bella rose from her seat and attached a photo of Emmett to the whiteboard with a magnet. "Emmett McCarty Cullen, gym owner, 28 years old, the oldest one out of Cullen's three adopted children."

"Dr. Carlisle Cullen is you all know is one of the four founders of VolteraBiotech Inc, a lucrative biotech and pharmaceutical business. Thank you Swan," FBI Chief Inspector Jason Jenks nodded while motioning for his other junior field agent to continue.

"Right, well both the Cullen brothers were booked to do a photo shoot for a print ad promoting some sports drink, everything was handled by a small but well renowned agency in Manhattan. They showed up at the studio accompanied by someone from the agency. The photographer was a freelancer working under the name Jamie T Wilson," Seth paused to scribble down the name with a red marker on the whiteboard.

"The photo shoot was legit. Everything went smoothly, they got there, took the pictures and left. The following day, however, Edward Cullen got a call from the photographer asking if he could come back later that week for some additional shots. There were some technical issues, allegedly one of the assistants ruined a whole roll of film in the darkroom."

"Funny how it's always the squints in the lab who have to take all the blame," Eric Yorkie, the forensic specialist assigned to the case commented somewhat sourly.

"This was back in the day when analog cameras were still widely used," Seth shrugged."Anyway, our guy went back to the studio, alone this time. It was a hot summer day and the air-conditioner was supposedly broken and the photographer kept trying to persuade him to pose shirtless, which of course was not part of the original deal."

"When he refused he was drugged?" Dropping her elbows to the table, Bella waited for the confirmation, already weary of the predictability in what she was hearing.

"Something like that," Seth nodded. "They took a lunch break around noon, Chinese takeout. Cullen drank mineral water and ate an egg roll. The next thing he remembers is waking up on the floor, with his clothes removed and the photographer hovering over him with his camera. To make a long story short he fought his way out and escaped with minor head and right hand injuries. No sign of sexual assault apart from the nonconsensual photos. The incident was never reported, until now…"

"I see, and these nonconsensual photos are the same photographs that showed up in Cullen's bedroom?," Eric Yorkie asked, pushing his glasses up his nose to take a better look at the various photos on the whiteboard.

"In an envelope on his pillow, yes, but there is more... I don't know if you've heard about the murder case that our major crime unit has been investigating over the last couple of months. You may have read about it in the papers. A 28-yea-old male found dead, lying naked, face down on a parking lot outside a night club in _Rochelle_."

"Oh, I know this one," Mike Newton, raised his hand like a school kid. "It's Judge Harridan's nephew right?"

"Yes, that's the one," Seth confirmed with a nod, adding not one but two new names to the whiteboard. "The victim's name was Victor Harridan and the number one suspect is the former boyfriend James Turner, a notorious video director in the underground porn industry. Our colleges had a warrant for his arrest but he got away and has not been located as to date."

At this point Seth stopped pacing the room and slumped back into his chair. "Should I continue or do you want to take over?," he asked with a glance in his boss's direction.

"I'll take it from here," Jenks said with a firm voice.

"What I'm about to tell you now is off the record. Cullen newer pressed charges against the sketchy photographer, but someone else did. Jamie T Wilson, went into hiding about two years ago after being sued for sexual harassment by one of his former clients. We have reason to believe that these two people, the photographer, Jamie T Wilson, and the murder suspect James Turner, are the same person. It's a bit of a sidetrack and it's just a hunch right now but if we're right it could be a pretty big breakthrough. "

Bella cleared her throat. "A hunch, Chief? So basically there is no evidence to support this theory. Besides it's not a side track, it's a completely different track all together. Shouldn't our main priority be to prevent, protect and investigate the threats against Edward Cullen?"

"That is correct, but you should all be aware of this parallel investigation and that a lot of eyes will be following the development of our work. Like I said, this could be a big breakthrough… or it could be nothing… I just thought I'd give you the heads up."

.

. x . X . x . x . X . x . x . X . x

.

_**Later at the gym…**_

_Time: 16:11_

"One-two-three Jab, Right Cross, Jab…."

Emmett called out combinations in rapid-fire succession and Edward gave the sand bag another series of punches.

"Is that the best you got?"

Edward grunted in response and threw another punch.

He had been going at it for a good twenty minutes now. Sweat poured from his body and his breathing was heavy and labored, but it sure felt good to blow off some steam.

"Keep your hands up and your chin down!"

"I f*king hate it when you tell me what to do!," Edward panted in between jabs.

Emmett laughed before bellowing out another jab cross combo, tightening his hold on the sandbag.

They continued in similar fashion, until Edwards muscles ached it felt like someone cut them with a knife.

He collapsed half-leaning, half-slumping on the nearest bench while his brother disappeared to take an incoming phone call in the back room.

. x . X . x . x . X . x . x . X . x

"You wanna to talk about it?," Emmett asked as he reemerged a few minutes later holding a fluffy white towel in one hand and a bottle of water in the other.

"Not particularly, no. I should hit the shower," Edward answered but made no move to get up.

"You want to hear what I think?," Emmett said, draping the towel over Edwards head before he sank down on the bench next to him

Edward sighed in aggravation and lifted the towel off his face. "If I say no, you'll just tell me anyway, right?"

His brother raised an eyebrow at that. "Nothing wrong with offering some honest advice…"

"I'm serious Emmett. I don't want to talk about it. I'm done talking about it"

"Fine, suite yourself. One question though, is it true that the duckling has turned into quite the swan? I heard she has grown some curves and is looking very fit these days."

Edward fixed him with a glare. "Not talking about it."

"Maybe you should, cuz I'm sensing a lot of pent up frustration here," Emmett smirked. "I always did like the Swanster, you know that. But it's painfully clear that you're still having unresolved issues with the lady in question. What's up with that? It's been what almost ten years now since... well you know…"

"Eight years," Edward caught himself correcting his brother. "Not that it is any of your business but I do NOT have any unresolved issues related to Isabella Swan."

"Then why won't you work with her?," Emmett quirked an eyebrow. "Can't take orders from a woman? Don't trust her? Don't trust yourself around her? Or is it all of the above?"

"Don't give me that crap. _I'm just not comfortable with the idea of_ having FBI and Bella Swan scrutinizing my every move, overlooking my every step. I'd rather stick with my crazy stalker, thank you very much…"

"You don't mean that!"

"Yeah, at this point I think I kind of do," Edward shrugged, tossing the by now sweat soaked towel over his shoulder. "Actually what I really need is to find a safer place to live. It's the break-ins that get's to me the most…the rest is annoying _but tolerable_."

"If that's how you feel, then why not skip town altogether? I'm sure mom and dad would be glad to have you… or you know Alaska is always an option."

"I haven't spoken to Kate in over two years, Alaska is not an option." Edward shuddered at the mere thought of imposing on his ex girlfriend.

"How about somewhere tropical? Like Aruba or Bermuda or… The possibilities are endless. You could spend a year island jumping in the Caribbean."

"Yes, because it's so easy to travel with studio equipment," Edward rolled his eyes at the absurdity of the suggestion. "You do know what I do for a living, right? I wouldn't go anywhere without my keyboard and my guitars."

"Okay, Forks it is then!"

"Uhm, no, just no!" Edward shook his head as if to rid himself of the ridiculous thought of moving back in with the 'rents. "So not happening!"

Emmett chuckled, clearly enjoying himself. "Or you could always stay here and stick it out. You can sleep on my couch for as long as you need, even Rosalie says so."

"How very generous of _the royal bitchiness_," Edward grumbled under his breath, to which Emmett let out a hearty laugh.

"If she heard you talking shit about her, she'd kick you out on the street faster than you can say 'Auf Wiedersehen!'"

"She'd love that, wouldn't she?"

Emmett's smile widened. "I'm sure she would. She could TOTALLY kick your ass, you know!"

Edward rolled his eyes again. "Seriously though, Emmett, are you sure it's okay for me to stay at your place? You have your own family to think of now. I doubt this maniac will stop harassing me just because I move to a different part of town. I'd hate to see anything happen to Elliot, or anyone else for that matter, because of me."

"Shit, so would I Edward, but you're family too. Who can you trust if not your family?"

"It would only be until I can find somewhere else to stay."

"That's cool, you can stay as long as you need. From what I've heard we might have something vacant by the end of the month. Felix has given his notice that he's moving out. You remember Felix right? That guy on second floor that drives that stupid-looking van with the two rear-ends….."

"I know who he is. I hate to tell you Emmett, but Alice already promised that room to Bella."

"What? Why would she do that without talking to me first? For a silent partner she's been taking an awful lot of liberties lately."

"Yeah well it's Alice we're talking about, what did you expect? She gave her a job too, here at the gym. I have no doubt Bella will accept both offers."

"Why? Is she short on cash or something? I though Bella already had a well paid full time job?"

"She does, the room and the job is all part of whatever master plan they are scheming. Some sort of undercover investigative crap where little miss secret agent will work toward infiltrating every aspect of, not just mine, but all our lives as quickly and as _completely_ as possible."

Emmett scratched his head and shrugged, "She'd be working under cover? That actually sounds like a pretty good plan, if you ask me."

Edward shook his head in frustration. "No, it's an exceptionally bad idea. I really, REALLY don't want her anywhere near this mess that is my life."

"You need to get over yourself. I know she supposedly broke your heart when you were eighteen, but that's an awful long time to hold a grudge. Sometimes you just need to bite the sour apple and take it like a man."

"Gee, thank you Dr. Phil. Now I know exactly what to do," Edward replied, a snarky bite to his tone.

Emmett only laughed and patted his shoulder. "I knew you would come to your senses. I'll move my office down to the basement. You can have your own room and everything."

. x . X . x . x . X . x . x . X . x

_**Back at the FBI Headquarters…**_

Time: 16:11

"Alright, we have our mission and we have our task force, what's next on the agenda Swan you've spoken to Cullen, how do you suggest we proceed?"

"My suggestion Chief, would be that you put whatever 'in' you might have with the NYPD to use. The sooner they hand over what evidence they have the sooner we can get to work."

Bella chewed on her lower lip as she waited for her boss's response. Depending on the situation, Jenks could be a very intimidating man.

The corner of his mouth twitched. "I'll have my secretary schedule a round on the golf course with the police chief. Anything else?"

Bella tapped her fingernails on the folder in front of her and glanced over at Seth. Seth nodded his head.

"We need to put together a plan of action, Chief. I have a few ideas."

"Let's hear them."

Bella cleared her throat. "It's not as much a plan as it is a list of who should do what. Yorkie, I want the envelopes, photos and notes analyzed. Newton, contact the Behavioral Analysis Unit in Quantico. We need a profiler and someone specialized in handwriting to take a look at this as well. Atera and Uluy, you guys will look into the business side of this. Look for business deals gone sour, unpaid depths, broken contracts, potential motives, potential corporation enemies… the works…"

She looked up briefly, making eye contact with each of her colleagues. "Clearwater you'll look into the technical aspects of this; the phone calls, text messages, the surveillance tapes. Paul down in tech lab will help you. Also I want Clearwater and Yorkie to assist me in my fieldwork and… uhm.. that's about it for now."

Jenks nodded. "Cullen needs to be moved to a safer location. Do you have a plan for that as well?"

"I want to move him to the McCarty/Cullen building, Chief."

"The McCarty/Cullen building?"

"It's an old warehouse, converted to a state-of-the-art gym owned by the Cullen Medical cooperation. The steel frame of the building is three stories high; the gym takes up the basement and the main part of the ground level. The second floor is apartment rental space and third floor is were Emmett McCarty and Alice Cullen live with their significant others. "

"Have you seen this building?"

"No, not yet, but from what I've heard it should be relatively easy to secure. There is only one way to access the third floor. I'll check it out and get back to you."

"Yorkie, you go with her!"

"Yes Chief. Eric saluted, straightening his posture as his hand touched the brim of an imaginary hat.

Jenks looked annoyed, but let the gesture pass. "Swan, are you still planning on operating under cover?"

"Yes, I'll be taking on the identity of Arizona Bell Hawkins, an old college friend of Alice Cullen. Ms. Hawkins is newly arrived from Seattle and has been offered both a part time job at the gym as well as a room on the second floor of the building."

"That sounds solid. I want Clearwater on the inside as well. We could have him pose as a janitor or carpenter or handy man or something?"

Seth groaned and Bella sniggered. "Don't worry I'll get you some power tools to play with."

"Alright, that's enough! Let's get to work!" Jenks said, ending the meeting by standing up and putting his jacket on. "I want a progress report same time tomorrow."

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AN2:

Thoughts? Love it? Hate It? Please let me know!

Keep those reviews coming, and I'll reward you with some Bella/Edward one on one interaction in the next chapter.

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_A teaser taken from the upcoming chapter:_

"I'm not sure I'm following, Chief," Bella looked at her boss with an expression of uncertainty. "You are seriously suggesting putting Cullen and the dog in a safe house?"

.

_And another one:_

"Wait! A room, as in one room? I'll have my own hotel room, thank you very much."

"Nope, sorry! No can do." she shook her head, and, to her credit, she actually did look sorry. "I've got my orders. You've got yourself a roommate whether you like it or not."

"Oh great, this ought to be interesting!"

.

BTW this story now has a banner. You can look at it at http://tinyurl(.)com/twistedtale and I will link it in my profile…

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**Disclaimer**

All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

I do not in any way profit from this story and that all creative rights to the Twilight characters belong to their original creator, Stephenie Meyer.

The plot line though is my own brainchild, so please don't steal it. I worked hard to come up with it! (Really, I did.)

No copying or reproduction of this work is permitted without my express written authorization. Copyright 2010 by Miraline.


	8. 108  Pulling an allnighter

**Chapter 8 – # 108 - Pulling an all-nighter**

. x . X . o . O . o . X . x . x . X . o . O . o . X . x .

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**# 108**

.

_Your blood sings to me, _

_your smell gets to me like heroin._

_I just had to get a taste of you._

_It's been so long…_

**Note # 108** was written on a Ziploc bag with a permanent marker. Inside the bag was Edward's missing toothbrush.

. x . X . o . O . o . X . x . x . X . o . O . o . X . x .

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_**Edwards studio apartment…**_

_Time:19.10_

"Are you sure you want to stay here tonight?" Alice asked, with her coat slung over her shoulder. "I hate the idea of leaving you alone like this."

"It'll be fine, I'll be fine," Edward insisted not taking his eyes off the hockey game he was watching on the TV. "Go, have fun Alice, I'll speak with you in the morning!"

Not for the first time, he silently thanked Jasper for arranging to take Alice out for a night of dining and dancing. Edward craved some alone time. He craved it like a drowning man craves oxygen.

The last 72 hours had passed in a haze of "coping" and "getting by". He had successfully managed to avoid making any definite decisions about his future yet he felt considerably calmer than in a long time. There was something oddly therapeutic about packing your life into cardboard boxes. About half of his stuff and most furniture had already gone into storage. The rest of his belongings; his bed, his flat-screen tv, his computer and musical instrument would stay in his apartment until he decided where he wanted to go and what he wanted to do.

Emmett kept insisting he had a room to spare and Alice kept pestering him to let her give the FBI the green light they were waiting for.

Edward knew that he was merely putting off the inevitable, but he just didn't want to get into anything unless it was on his own terms.

He needed another night to sleep on it and he was going to do it in his own apartment. Stalker or no stalker, nothing beats sleeping in your own bed. Sure, there were packing boxes everywhere, but there were also 12 ice cubes and one bottle of Chivas Regal, he'd get by just fine…

"Alice, I'll be fine," Edward repeated, a little more forcefully this time.

"Well, if you're sure," Alice still hesitated, lingering in the doorway

"I'm sure. It's just for one night. Come on, I'll walk you out," he pushed himself out of the bed and took her arm, gently pulling her towards the front door.

"Geez, I'm going, I'm going. No need to get physical."

"Say hello to Jasper from me and thank him again for letting me borrow the dog."

"I can assure you that Jazz and I are VERY happy to be dog-free for the weekend. Whoo hoo! Don't let that puppy face fool you, Bentley demands more attention than a sugar-filled five year old."

Before Edward had a chance to reply, there was a loud thumping noise and a bark indicating that the dog knew he was being talked about. The maze of packing boxes was slowing him down somewhat but fact remained; Bentley the Rottweiler had more energy than a red bull factory.

He was an excellent watchdog, but a lousy guard dog. He would make all kinds of noise if there was something unknown in his territory, but all he really wanted to do was to play. Bentley would lick any intruder to death before ever thinking about biting them. He was good company on a night like this though and Edward didn't mind keeping the dog around as it gave him a sense of security to know that he wasn't completely alone.

Once his well-meaning but slightly smothering sister had been escorted out the door Edward poured himself another shot of whiskey and settled back onto his bed to watch the rest of hockey game.

He yawned. The whiskey and the beating rain on the windows were already making him sleepy. He closed his eyes for a bit and almost instantly felt himself drift off. How long he had been asleep he did not know, but he was suddenly awakened by the impact of something heavy landing on his stomach. His head shot up and his heart leapt into his throat.

It was the dog, of course… who else could it be… with a strange looking object dangling out of his mouth. It looked like a stuffed animal of some sort. Oh well, at least it wasn't some dead animal this time, like in the dog park the other day…

Edward sat up slowly, causing the Bentley to jump off of him onto the bed. The dog was panting and wagging his tail, eager to show off his new toy.

His brown doggy eyes looked at Edward as if he was expecting some kind of praise for a job well done.

_Lookie, lookie, uncle Eddie I brought you a present!._

Edward grabbed the item before it fell on the floor and turned to Bentley to scratch behind his ears.

"Good boy! Whatcha got for me?"

He looked at the object in his hand. He examined it carefully. It wasn't a toy… It was roll of gauze bandage… USED gauze bandage… There were red patches…bloodstains…

"F*ck!"

Edward quickly dropped it on the bedside table, as though it had burned him. After recovering from his initial shock however he quickly realized the stains were nothing but red ink. Red ink forming letters and words. He unrolled the gauze and read the message word by word.

_'I heard __you are moving?__ Don't think I wont follow._

_Stop running away or someone will be paying in blood._

_That __stupid dog you borrowed __maybe! He's too friendly for his own good. _

_I bet if I fed him arsenic he'd still be wagging his tail!'_

Edward felt his heart drop. A sense of panic surged through him. Bentley nudged his leg with his nose and made a questioning noise. He patted the dog absently as he continued to stare at the message. Maybe if he stared long and hard enough, it might magically disappear.

Finally snapping out of his daze, he pulled the dog into his lap and pressed him tightly to his chest.

"Don't worry, Bentley. I'm not letting you out of my sight. Let's find the phone and call for backup, okay?"

And so the decision was made….

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. x . X . o . O . o . X . x . x . X . o . O . o . X . x .

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_**FBI headquarters**_

Time: 20:46

"I'm not sure I'm following, Chief," Bella looked at her boss with an expression of uncertainty. "You are seriously suggesting putting the dog in a safe house?"

"What I suggest is that you clear out the apartment so that Yorkie and the forensic team can collect and secure evidence as soon as possible, before it's destroyed, altered, or otherwise compromised."

It was Friday and it was late. Any other office building in town would be more or less deserted once the _clock__struck five on a Friday_afternoon, but not the FBI headquarters. It wasn't unusual for agents to get _called in after hours._Being constantly on call came with the territory of working for the bureau.

This time it was a situation with the Cullen case that had warranted an emergency meeting. Another incident of breaking and entering had occurred and another threat had been made, only this time the threat had been aimed at the family pet.

Bella wasn't a dog person and didn't quite understand the urgency of the matter or why it couldn't wait until the following morning, but Jenks showed no sign of being anything but dead serious in his demands.

"Time is ticking…"

"Alright, alright, Cullen and the dog need to be relocated and kept under surveillance," Bella heard herself agree to, while groaning inwardly. She was going to have to pull an all-nighter.

It had been a long day and Bella was tired. She had not gotten much sleep the night before. There was just too much on her mind to get much rest at the moment.

"I'd switch with you, but as you know I'm allergic to dogs," Eric Yorkie said, smiling innocently.

"Of course you are," Bella replied, with ill-concealed skepticism. "I already said I'll do it. This is my case and I'll handle it."

"Good, I'll make sure you get the information you need," Jenks nodded and rose from his chair. "Cullen and his dog will be checking into a downtown hotel. It's a small, secluded place not far his apartment. You'll meet up with him there and keep an eye on him over night."

"Anything else?"

"This is basic stuff, really. Just keep them safe and lay low, that's all. Oh, and make sure no one sees the two of you checking in at the hotel together. We can't have it look like two lovers sneaking off for some secret rendezvous."

She refrained from rolling her eyes, but just barely. "I can handle this."

"Good, because I have a cocktail party to attend to tonight and I don't want any further interruptions, is that clear?"

"Crystal clear!," Bella and Eric responded in unison as they watched Jenks grab his hat and his coat and head of towards the elevator.

"Allergies, my ass," Bella hissed between clenched teeth.

"Oh, shush. You love animals, don't you? All girls do," Eric replied sweetly and scurried off to fetch his car keys.

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. x . X . o . O . o . X . x . x . X . o . O . o . X . x .

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_Time: 22.03_

As promised, Bella was waiting for him in the shadows outside the staff entrance of the hotel. She wore a blond wig and a maid's uniform with the hotel emblem embroiled on the left breast pocket.

He wouldn't have recognized her had he not received instructions as to what to look out for.

The first thing Edward noticed as he came closer was her legs... They were endless. Her black knee length skirt showed off her well-toned, nylon-sheathed calves to their best advantage.

The second thing he noticed was that she was still wearing her wedding ring.

For the millionth time he wondered what in the name of common sense had possessed him to agree to this arrangement. Then Bentley nudged his leg with his nose and made a whimpering noise as if to remind him of the seriousness of the situation.

He really didn't have much of a choice… The letters, the phone calls and the threats… FBI protection might be the only way to get to the bottom of this mess, but could he trust this woman? And more importantly could he trust himself around this woman. Emmett had not been far off in his assessment of the situation.

Clenching his teeth, he fought the childish urge to turn around and leave. It was too late now anyway. Bentley's whimper had turned into full blown barking, alerting Special agent Swan of their arrival.

Her greeting was short and to the point. "Hurry up, there's a room waiting for us".

Not a 'hello' or a 'how are you holding up?' or anything.

"Wait! A room, as in one room? I'll have my own hotel room, thank you very much," Edward protested with a frown.

"Nope, sorry! No can do." she shook her head, and, to her credit, she actually did look sorry. "I've got my orders. You've got yourself a roommate whether you like it or not."

"Oh great, this ought to be interesting," Edward grumbled.

"It's just for a few hours. I'm sure it'll be fine."

"Well excuse me for being difficult but I've just had my home broken into…I'm still a bit traumatized in case you haven't noticed…"

"Duly noted, but for future references; I'm not a mind reader, you've got to tell me if something is bothering you."

"There are a lot of things bothering me. For starters the dog didn't make a sound, meaning that whoever it was breaking int-…," he started, but was silenced by a firm shove of an elbow in the small of his back.

"Ouch!"

"Not here… We really should get inside."

He nodded. "Of course, lead the way, oh great leader… bellhop… maid… person." He smirked at his own word-play. "I like your eh… work attire, by the way. You should hold on to that. It looks…. well, nice."

"Oh, shut up. You act like you've never seen me in a skirt before," she retorted, quickly ushering him inside the building.

"Geez, I just said it looks nice. A man can look, can't he?"

"Uh uh, not on my shift he can't. And if I catch you staring at my legs like that again I might just have to hurt you. Have I made myself clear Cullen?"

"YES SIR MRS SIR YES SIR!," Edward muttered between clenched teeth, silently cursing Alice and Rosie and their brilliant ideas.

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AN: Thanks for all the reviews and alerts on this story.

My life is kind of crazy busy right now with exams, coursework and my full time job.

So for the next month or so **I'll only update when I get...say... 10 reviews**. Two for each hour I was working on this story this past week. Hope you all find that fair :) Let me give you something to look forward to, there is a lemon (sort of) coming up in chapter 10...


	9. 109  Room Service

**Chapter 9 – #109 - Room Service**

. x . X . O . X . x . x . X . O . X . x . x . X . O . X . x .

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_A mere twitch of my hand and I could slay you. Be aware that you have got about a billion heart beats left._

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Note #109 was written on a piece of paper tucked away in the back pocket of Edward's jeans.

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. x . X . O . X . x . x . X . O . X . x . x . X . O . X . x .

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Time: 22.10

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"I do hope the room is to your liking. If there's anything you desire all you need to do is ask."

Bella produced a keycard from the front pocket of her maid uniform and used it to unlock the door.

"Let's step inside and I'll show you how to adjust the air conditioner," she offered with a polite smile gesturing for him to enter the room..

"Uh…the air conditioner?" Edward stared at her blankly for a moment, before he realized what she was up to. There were after all other people in the hallway and it was possible - likely even – that they were being watched. She needed a legit reason to be entering his hotel room.

"Yes, the thermostat can be a bit tricky to find if you don't know where to look."

"Okay, you better show me then miss," he nodded playing along with the charade. "Oh, and if you could arrange a bowl of water for my dog, it would be much appreciated," he added for good measure as they stood there in the doorway waiting for Bentley to make his way down the hallway. The leash was quite long and the dog sure took his sweet time stopping and sniffing at everything that came in his way.

"Does he have a preference or would tap water be acceptable?," Bella asked_, __turning around to look at the dog_. "Oh, and what is he doing with that plant over there? He's not going to lift his leg, is he?" She was beginning to sound a little irritated, impatiently tapping the toe of her shoe against the floor as she spoke.

For the second time that evening, Edward found himself engrossed by the sight of her nicely shaped legs peaking out from beneath the hem of her skirt.

"The plant, Mr. Cullen! Save the plant!"

"Right," he grabbed the dog by the collar and practically dragged him over the threshold. "Sorry about that, he's still a puppy. He isn't obedience trained yet, _but he is friendly and almost house broken_."

"That's sou-…wha-…"_Bella_'s response was cut short when she nearly tripped over the dog leash.

Edward reached out to steady her out of reflex. Funny how some reflexes never die. She_didn't need his help though. In fact her balance was remarkable steady considering the high heels she wore._ In one swift move_ she had managed _untangle her feet from Bentleys leather tether, coax the _uncooperative and squirming_dog further inside the room and then finally, FINALLY, get the door shut and locked behind them– _all with a grace that_ left Edward baffled._ So much so_, that the next thing he knew, Bella was snapping her fingers in his face.

"Edward!"

"Eh… what?"

"Keep ogling my legs like that and the dog won't be the only one sleeping on the floor tonight."

"Geez, sensitive much," _he muttered with_ a roll of his eyes."That wasn't even what I was looking at…."

"That better be the truth, because if you try anything funny with me tonight I'll snap your neck like a twig. Is that clear enough for you?"

"I hear you loud and clear, special agent Swan." Edward gave a mock salute before dropping his bag down on the end of the bed with a little more force than needed. It bounced a few times on the mattress and nearly fell of the narrow bed… the very narrow bed…

His forehead creased into a frown as the thought registered properly. "There is only one bed in here!"

"That is correct. One man, one dog, one room, one bed. Anything else would look suspicious…" Bella commented as she walked over to the windows, pulled the drapes shut and then quickly discarded her wig and the silly little apron thingy that came with her uniform.

"Alright, but that bed is not nearly big enough for two full-grown people."

"If that's how you feel then I suggest you make yourself comfortable in one of the chairs, Cullen."

"Why me? You're the one insisting on us sharing a room. There is no way I'm giving up a nice comfortable bed to sleep in a chair."

Bella snorted "I'm the one who need to stay well rested and alert incase someone tries an attack. To emphasize her words she pushed her black maid uniform skirt up just a little to reveal the gun holster tied around her left thigh. "I'll do a better job if I'm not cranky, don't you think?"

Edward clenched his fists and tried to remain calm. "Okay, fine. We'll share or take turns or something."

"Good. I knew you'd see it my way," Bella said in a smug voice and tugged the hem of her skirt back down again. "Oh and Edward, I don't think you need to worry about watering the dog because by the look of things I'd say he just took care of that himself."

"What?"

"The dog is lapping _water straight out_ of the toilet bowl as we speak"

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. x . X . O . X . x . x . X . O . X . x . x . X . O . X . x .

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Time: 23.46

"Geez, do you have to keep your gun lying around like that?," Edward asked from his sprawled out position on the left side of the narrow bed.

Bentley was curled up around his feet and on the TV Hallmark was playing an old zombie movie. The dialog was laughably melodramatic but strangely intriguing at the same time. Just like woman on the other side of the bed. She always –then and now- seemed to have an air of drama around her… Nothing was ever easy or simple with Bella. She was stubborn to the point of obnoxiousness at times, but she also had certain spark of spunk and sass to her personality, he had to give her credit for that. She was in surprisingly high spirit considering her recent loss and Edward couldn't help but admire her inner strength.

He hadn't worked up the nerve to address that particular topic yet, or the topic of their shared past either for that matter. He wasn't sure it was a good idea to bring up any of those subjects when Bella kept insisting on keeping her handgun within arm's reach at all times…

"Didn't you hear me? Can't you put that thing away? It makes me nervous," he repeated, with a little more force behind his words this time

"Don't be such a wuss," she chuckled, not even bothering to look up from the article she was reading. She was settled with her back against the headboard and the gun in question, a Beretta 92F, was on balancing on top of a stash of glossy magazines on the nightstand.

"It's not the gun itself that scares me, it's more the way you are handling it that gives me the creeps."

"Well, thank you Edward!"

"That wasn't a compliment."

"Yes it was,"

"No it wasn't"

"It was"

"It wasn't"

"It was"

"It wa-… Hey, are you laughing at me? Stop that, it's not funny," Edward protested sourly.

Bella only laughed louder. "You're the most stubborn person I have ever known," she said when she could catch her breath.

"Yeah well, you bring it out in me. You're pretty stubborn yourself, you know."

"I know, that's why I'm laughing. Look, we are stuck with each other whether we like it or not. We are actually not that different, you and I. Your music is still your number one passion, right? We are both married to our work. In a weird twisted way that kind of makes us in-laws… "

This time, it was Edward's turn to laugh. "No wonder you get on my nerves, you're if possible even more annoying than Rosalie."

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. x . X . O . X . x . x . X . O . X . x . x . X . O . X . x .

. Time: 07.17

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Edward slept like shit.

Finally giving up after hours of tossing and turning, he pushed his blanket away and sat up in the bed.

His slumber had been anything but restful. The few hours of sleep he had managed to grab had been plagued with nightmares about his past and things he thought he'd finally gotten under control, and new things, like red envelopes and the mesmerizing dark eyes of a certain FBI agent.

Yep, that's right he had only spent a few hours in her presence and she was already haunting him in his sleep.

Stretching his limbs, Edward swung his legs over the side of the bed and stepping onto the floor. Only instead of hitting the floor, his feet landed on something solid and fleshy. And a piercing scream suddenly filled the room.

"WATCH IT! THAT'S MY ARM YOU'RE STEPPING ON!"

Edward peered over the edge of the bed, confused by what had just happened "What are you doing down there?"

"I'm RESTING what does it look like I'm doing?

"But you're on the floor…"

"Brilliant observation there, Sherlock. I wouldn't be down here if someone hadn't pushed me out of the bed in the middle of the night," Bella explained.

"I did? Sorry… I don't remember that," Edward said slightly embarrassed.

"That's because you slept through the whole incident. You were thrashing around on the bed like a madman…I figured it was safer for me to stay on the floor. "

"Ah-ha! See! I told you that bed was not big enough for the both of us! Maybe next time you'll listen to me."

"Okay, okay, point taken! Don't you look at me with that smug look on your face."

"What smug look?" Edward asked looking innocent.

"Don't look at me with that innocent look either" Bella said getting annoyed.

"What innocent look?" Edward asked looking confused.

"Ugh – Don't look at me at all until I have had my morning coffee, okay? Now, make yourself useful for a change. Call room service."

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. x . X . O . X . x . x . X . O . X . x . x . X . O . X . x .

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Time: 07:49

"So what's on the agenda for today?," Edward asked looking up from his bowl of cereal.

The spoon clinked against the edge of the porcelain mug as Bella paused stirring her coffee for a moment and then looked up at him.

"Not much really. Once breakfast is over and done with I will make myself disappear and you will check out and head back to your place."

"Alone? Are you sure that is safe?," Edward questioned, his eyes involuntarily seeking out Bentley, who was curled up on the bed.

"You won't be alone. Your studio apartment is under constant watch."

"It is? Since when?"

"Since this morning…. Go home, finish packing. Someone will keep an eye on you and make sure you survive the weekend. You'll have 24 hour protection. Everything is under control, I promise."

"Okay, if you say so," he paused a while to consider how to approach the next subject on his mind. "I've made my decision."

"About moving? We figured that much when we saw the cardboard boxes."

"No, I meant about accepting your help. You told me to think about it and get back to you."

"Well, thanks for letting me know. I already have several men working on the case, but your cooperation will make things run a lot smother, so that's good."

"Just so we're clear, I'm only doing this because I' don't want anything happening to my family. If it was just me I'd… well I'm not sure what I'd do, runaway and hide probably… I just want my life back in some sort of semi-normal fashion."

"I will do my best to keep everyone safe, but I'll need your help or it won't work. I need your full co-operation. I have to know that you'll listen to me. No matter what I say, I have to know you'll listen and obey my orders... "

"I'm here aren't I," he grumbled, clearly irritated. "I've just spent what eight, no ten, hours cooped up in this room with you. I've been very cooperative. Doesn't that count for anything?"

"Sure it does…, " Bella sighed. "We made it through the night without strangling each other. That's quite the accomplishment. The real test is going to be weather or not we can actually work together without one or both of us going complete nuts. Only time will tell how that goes…. "

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**AN:Thanks for the favoriting but I WOULD LOVE SOME REVIEWS. Pretty please? You don't wanna see me cry, do you? Don't answer that.**

**I'd appreciate anything! even if it's just a smily face or a frown just something! ...**

**It's a good idea to keep me entertained with your reviews, because if I get bored I might start killing main characters, to amuse myself. =D**


	10. 110 Hormones and neighborly courtesy

AN:This one is rather short, but believe me it was the only logical place to divide the chapters ;) The next update will be a flashback of teenage Bella and Edward attempting to do some lemony things together. I have it all written up already, so give me reviews and I might update faster

**Chapter 10 – # 110 - Hormones and neighborly courtesy**

..~.._ ..~.._ ..~.._ ..~.._ ..~.._ ..~.._ ..~

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**#110**

_You like it rough, I'll give it to you._

_I'll drug you if I have to, drag you somewhere and tie you down._

_You will bleed out slowly, drop by delicious drop._

_I'll be watching, I'll be waiting._

_In the end, I'll get what's mine and you'll get yours._

**Note #110** was waiting for Edward inside his guitar case.

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XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

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FOREVER_DAWN

Rockin out tonight at Forever Dawn with the awesome Eddie Masen!…

3:15 PM July 23h from Web

Had an ace Weekend with The awesome Deportees and Volterra. 2 amazing bands, 2 amazing nights!...

4:53 PM July 21st from Web

Just about to get started tonight with our Masquerade themed performance by Nightmare Show.

2:32 PM July 30th from Web

A MASSIVE thank you to everybody who came to the spectacular show last night!…

3:38 PM July 17th fro from Web

Eddie Masen officially blew away Forever Dawn tonight! A total sell out! Its been an ace night all round,...

5:22 PM July 16th from Web

Get down to Forever Dawn tonight for our Thursday night performance by awesome Eddie Masen and Jasper Whitlock...

11:02 AM July 12th from Web

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..~.._ ..~.._ ..~.._ ..~.._ ..~.._

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After a week and a half of hectic preparations the time had finally come to put the next phase of the plan in motion. Edward had made the suggested changes to his living arrangements and was now living in his brother's spare room. He had made the move less than 48 hours after the whole guard dog failure. Bella had followed suit and moved into the very same building five days later and was now ready to 'work' her first shift at the gym come Monday morning.

This night however was a Thursday night which meant show time. Arizona Bell Hawkins was about to make her first official appearance. Edward's standing Thursday gig at Forever Dawn provided the perfect opportunity for her to meet his friends and put faces to some of the names featured in the investigation.

Infiltrating his inner circle was an important part of the assignment and Bella was a tad bit nervous, but just a tad... It was crucial for the case that her true identity remained unknown. All the necessary precautions had been taken. Her trademark dark eyes and long brown hair were hidden respectively by colored lenses and a short edgy, jet black, haircut. She had changed her name, changed her appearance, changed her style, but with a background like hers there was always a slight chance that someone would recognize her, either as governor Dwyer's supportive step daughter or the media shy widow of the legendary Jacob Black.

Bella arrived late on purpose hoping to draw as little attention to herself as possibly. The place was surprisingly crowded for a weeknight. Alice had warned her that Edward and Jaspers little jam sessions were quite popular but that still didn't prepare her for the surge of energy that seemed to radiate from crowd as she entered the club.

The boys had already entered the stage and were in the middle of their set by the sound of things. Bella had no trouble recognizing the voice blaring out of the speakers. It was soulful and haunting, just the way she remembered it.

She noted that his eyes were downcast and closed tightly, but that his fingers never hesitated as they danced over the keys of the piano.

She had heard Edward play and sing on several occasions in their youth, the last time being at a party just a few days prior to their high school graduation. God, it seemed like a lifetime ago now. A lot of things had changed since then, including the musician on the stage before her. Or maybe it was just her perception of him that had changed? He looked more mature now, more comfortable in his own skin and slightly more comfortable on the stage.

Almost as if he knew he was being watched Edward lifted his gaze. For some strange reason Bella felt her breath hitch as his bright green eyes scanned the audience. She knew he probably couldn't see a thing past the stage light, yet there was a brief moment, a split second, where she could have sworn his eyes locked with hers and… hang on… was that a wink? Or was it a figment of her imagination? Either way Edward definitely seemed more comfortable in the spotlight these days.

His performance was as captivating as always. Bella waited until the final note of the last song resonated throughout the club before she ordered herself a drink and approached the group of people she recognized as his family and friends.

She knew her arrival was bound to raise some curiosity and suspicion. Alice proved to be a big help, handling all the introductions and most of the talking, socializing like a pro. All Bella had to do was to shake a few hands and exchange some polite words here and there as they mingled their way through the night.

Alice only left her side a handful of times, and only to sneak in few dances with her boyfriend. It was during one of those rare occasions Bella decided to strike up a conversation with Edward. It would look odd if they avoided each other the entire night, yet it was important that they kept a certain amount of distance at this point. The story they were planting was that they barely knew each other, that their only connection was Alice and that they had only met in person once or twice prior to moving into the same building.

Accidentally-on-purpose she bumped against his arm lightly as she walked passed him after having refilled her drink in the bar.

"Hi there neighbor! Did you enjoy the show," he asked as he steadied her with his hands on her upper arms.

She suppressed a shudder, but her voice was coldly calm as she answered. "I did. I'm quite impressed actually. Who would have guessed Alice's scrawny kid brother would grow up to become such a heartbreaker."

"Yeah well, not so scrawny anymore," Edward replied with a crocked smile and flexed his arm to show a hint of a bicep. "…and don't call me heartbreaker, cause you broke mine first."

Bella very ungracefully choked on her drink at that last comment. This was not part of the cover story they had agreed on. "I very much doubt that," she managed to get out in between coughs. "I have only ever met you twice in all the years I've known Alice," she reminded him once she had regained her composure.

"What can I say, I was young and impressionable and twice was more than enough to set my teenage heart afire."

Bella shot him a stern look. He was messing with her and she didn't much appreciate it. The post show adrenaline buzz he had going was making him reckless.

"Nice try, Romeo, but I'm not buying it," she said, pointing a finger to his chest. "It is, however, nice to see you again and nice to see that you're making a name for yourself," she added and give him a quick pat-on-the-back-one-armed-hug.

"Aww, come on is that the best you can do?," he complained, as his arm darted out, grabbing her wrist and pulling her closer.

His sudden movement caught Bella off guard and before she knew what had happened she found herself pressed up against his chest. It was a very well defined, firm, masculine chest she noted before she caught herself and pulled away.

He let her go but not without kissing her first. It wasn't much of a kiss really, just a quick peck on the lips but it went way beyond neighborly courtesy.

WHOA… there was that shudder again…

Startled, she jerked backwards, her hand going to her face. Hormones, she told herself, taking a deep breath, you're a victim of your own hormones. Months without sex was starting to take its toll on her. That was all it was…

Yep, this was going to be a tough assignment… For more reasons than one…


	11. Chapter 11 – Flashback part deux

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**Chapter 11 – Flashback part deux**

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Edward reached his hand up to his mouth and touched his lips. They were still tingling with the aftermath of the kiss he had just stolen.

He had managed to catch Special agent Swan off guard and he had taken full advantage of it. However good of an agent she was, she had not seen that one coming. He had seen the panic in her eyes. Panic quickly replaced by anger before she had pushed him away. Damn, he had forgotten how gorgeous she looked when she was furious.

The liplock, if you could call it that, had only lasted for about half a second, but that brief moment was enough to open up a floodgate of memories from his high school years in the flyspeck of a town that was Forks WA.

Some of the most vivid memories he had of Isabella Swan involved both heated arguments and steamy liplocks. They had quarreled a LOT during their time together. Two equally strong individuals, two equally pigheaded teenagers– neither of them willing to be the first to give in… but more often than seldom their arguments had ended with the two of them rolling around in each others arms laughing or kissing or both.

Edward rarely allowed himself to think back on those memories, but when he did there was this one particular memory, this one particular argument, that stood out from the rest. It was a night he still, many years later, remembered with crystal clarity, a night when he had pushed her buttons so bad that he had thought for sure he'd end up in one of Chief Swans holding cells. Of course in the end it turned out it had been Bella pushing his buttons all along and not the other way around…

It all started with his teenage self climbing through one of the second floor windows of the Swan residence, a fairly regular occurrence back in those days. It was a climb that took nearly ten minutes to make. The tree that served as a ladder was a tall, straight, pine without a branch or a single knot on its dark bark till eight feet off the ground. It was hard work, but usually well worth the effort. This particular night was no exception because waiting for him on the other side of that window was a fresh-out-of -the-shower looking Bella with soaking wet hair, clad in nothing but the oversized T-shirt that she usually wore as a nightie.

His mood had been beyond sour that night but the sight of her bare feet, long legs and cute ass had been enough to make him forget, at least momentarily, about the confrontation he knew was coming.

Bella had appeared to be genuinely trilled to see him and Edward decided to play along in hope of getting some kissing and grouping in before hell broke loose. Although he knew he was only prolonging the inevitable, he let himself be led towards her bed, let himself forget all else but the softness of her in his arms, and the warmth of her lips on his.

The make out session and the corresponding hormone-induced euphoria lasted for a good seven minutes. That's how long it took before Bella had to go and ruin the moment by mentioning the one name Edward did not want to hear from her lips...ever… Jacob Black.

And with that the grim reality came crashing down on him once again.

If Edward remembered correctly it started with Bella telling him, in between kisses that she had made plans for the weekend, plans that did not include him. That in itself wasn't such a big deal, it wasn't like they were joined at the hip or anything. He would have been fine with it had he not found out that the real reason she was bailing on him was because she had made a study date with Jake.

A date with Jacob freaking Black… Now, that was something that did NOT sit right with Edward...at all.

As always, Edward's fists clenched and his teeth gritted at the mere mention of that name. He tried to remain indifferent, but his facial expression betrayed him almost instantly. His mouth contorted into something between a sneer and a scowl; an expression that young Bella was probably all-too familiar with because she immediately called him out on it.

"Don't give me that look," she warned him, poking him in the chest with her index finger. "I'm his tutor, in order to tutor him I need to spend certain amount of time with him."

The muscles in his jaw jerked as he fought devilish bile of jealousy welling up inside him. "What is it this time? Algebra, geometry, calculus… No wait, I know, it's biology again, isn't it? You're educating him on the finer points of the human anatomy. Just like you did after school this afternoon, when Rosalie saw the two of you in town together?"

Bella rolled her eyes in the "No this again." kinda way, before responding. "We went to the library to pick up some books."

He looked for signs of guilt on her face, prodded for signs of internal conflict. Yet he could see none. So it was probably not an outright lie then, but rather a half-truth.

She looked utterly angelic as she sat there cross legged on the bed with her dark hair laying out over her shoulders contrasting sharply with her white T-shirt and her pale, glowing skin. He almost felt bad for calling her out on her crap… almost… but not quite…

"The library you say? Funny, because from what I've heard you were seen at the diner with him, practically sitting in his lap, looking all cozy and shit."

Her facial expression went from innocence to confusion to anger in five seconds flat. "You know that I would never, ever – "

"Right, I'm sure it was all innocent," he interrupted her, the sarcasm in his tone heavily emphasized as he continued. "Just two kids sharing a Strawberry Ice Cream Sundae,"

"I don't have to justify anything to you." Her words came out fast and with her emotion rising and falling, at one moment angry and at another with a needy, almost pleading tone. "Jake is my friend, I've known him since he was in diapers. We used to make mud pies together, hell we used to run around naked in Charlie's front yard when we were younger. "

"Yeah well, he's not a kid anymore. He's a guy, a guy who takes every opportunity to ogle you and follow you around like a horny little puppy. I don't trust him one single bit."

"Which is the same thing as saying you don't trust me." Bella shot back after reflecting on it for all of ten seconds.

And there it was. The issue that always hung over them…

"You certainly seem to enjoy the attention he's giving you. He's always touching you and you never tell him off."

"I'm not even going to dignify that with a response." She broke away and scurried to get off the bed, clearly not liking the direction the conversation was going.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I touch a nerve?" Edward was on his feet and in her face in an instant, not willing to back down just yet. "Does puppy eyes turn you on?" He gripped her jaw, forcing her to look at him. "You like em' young and baby faced, Isabella? "

Her eyes widened. "Don't be ridiculous." She tried to twist out of his grip, but he was of course far stronger than her.

"What the f*ck Isabella! You sat in his lap, you let him spoon feed you Ice-cream… Did you honestly think I'd be okay with that?," he spat as he maneuvered them both backwards towards the nearest wall.

Bella shrieked in surprise as her back hit the hard surface with a resounding thud. "Let go of me!"

"Let go of me," Edward mimicked her voice scornfully. "I bet that's not what you tell HIM?"

She lunged at him then, her clenched fists colliding with his chest not once, but repeatedly, until he caught her

wrists in a one handed grip and yanked them over her head.

She cursed loudly and at length whilst attempting to wriggle herself free. He pulled her upwards until her feet barely touched the ground. He wasn't gentle but he was no where near hurting her either. Her scowl grew even darker, but he could tell she was more flustered than anything else.

"All those hours you spent with him at his place, you weren't really studying, were you?"

"Scuse me?," she flinched at his snide remark.

"You heard me!" He let his one free hand travel downwards to the hemline of her T-shirt and the exposed skin of her hip and the near-perfect roundness of her tush. "All that alone time with him... Don't tell me he's never tried anything! I'm not buying that!"

She let out a startled little "Eeek!" as Edward fondled every bit of naked flesh he could reach.

"Don't deny it! I've seen him grab your ass…" He practically spat the words in her ear as his hand continued to roam crudely, intimately over the curves of her body. "…and he's always staring at your tits." As he spoke his hands paused at the soft swell of her breasts. "Has he seen them? Has he touched them?," he asked cupping first one, and then the other in his hand.

She yelped and squirmed against him the tiniest bit, but would neither look at him or answer his question. Her silence was enough of an admission for Edward to continue his exploration of her body.

He let his hand drop to the junction of her thighs. "What about here?" He pushed the fabric of her panties aside and treaded his fingers into the soft silken tangle of hair. "Has he touched you here as well!" He growled against her neck, strangely eager for her reaction.

She didn't disappoint.

"Like hell I'm answering a question like that!" She stuck her chin out defiantly at him, but he also detected a note of urgency in her voice as her hips jerked against his hand.

"So you're not denying it then?"

"Only because I shouldn't have to!," she hissed through clenched teeth.

"Say it! I want to hear you say it! I need to hear you say it!"

"Never!," she shook her head vigorously, but gave a nearly primal cry when his fingertips brushed against the edges of her slick folds.

"Say it!," he demanded once more.

"Never…. never been anyone but you " she sputtered almost angrily.

And there they were; the magic words….

"There is no one but you…Edward!"

His anger dissolved just as fast as it had flared and once his mind cooled down he began to take stock of what he had done.

He had been rough with her; backed her into a corner and plunged his fingers into her like a greedy child in a sweet shop. So NOT cool!

The quiver in her voice could very well have been caused by fear and the squirming could have been a sign of discomfort… could have been... but wasn't because her face was flushed, her breathing was coming in rapid gasps against the side of his neck and she was wet, absolutely sodden wet. This was, however, not how it was supposed to be. Even if it turned her on a little, or a lot judging by the wetness between thighs, it still wasn't right.

Suddenly guilt stricken, he let go of her wrists and her arms fell limply to her sides.

His beautiful, fierce, perfect, virginal girlfriend deserved better than this, she deserved better than a raw, quick fuck against the wall.

Bella, of course, was of a different idea. "Edward Cullen, don't you dare leave me hanging like this!," she growled, yes growled and quickly squeezed her legs and thighs together, trapping his hand in a death grip between them. "Don't you-dare-stop-now!"

"Sorry, this is wrong. I was wrong. I shouldn't have… we shouldn't…" He tugged his hand, but she wouldn't budge instead her arms snaked around his neck, and he could feel her breasts pressing against his chest, and her heart, or was it his, pounding hard between them.

Edward inhaled, sharply. "We agreed to wait til after your birthday."

"You agreed, not me. I'm done waiting. I'm not waiting another day," Tilting her head, she pressed her lips to his jaw. "I'm ready now," she whispered, her mouth so close to his ear it sends shivers through his body.

Lips pressing, teeth nipping, tongue licking.

She knew exactly what that did to him. He should have known there would be payback. Clearly, she was trying to torture him into submission-as if he wasn't already aching hard and throbbing for her.

"We both agreed to wait," he insisted, but even in his own ears it did not sound convincing.

"My birthday is weeks away, " she pouted.

God that pout may just be the most wholesomely sexy expression he had ever seen.

He knew he needed to retreat, needed to back away and flee from temptation and the heavenly smell of her arousal before he did something they would both regret.

"We are not doing this. Not here, not now, not with your father watching TV downstairs."

"I'm done waiting. If you won't give me what I want then I will have to look elsewhere…"

She was taunting him, pushing him, and while he knew what she was trying to achieve, he couldn't stop the jealousy from taking root in his chest again.

"You will NOT, I repeat, NOT go to Jake or anyone else. I know I can't stop you from seeing him, but please… please…You're mine. We belong together."

"Better lay your claim then," she half teased, half challenged and suddenly his hand was free of the restraint and the solid warmth of her body was no longer pressed against his.

"Take me now and I'll be yours. All yours and only yours." She took a few steps back and pulled her T-shirt over her head exposing her perfectly rounded breasts crowned by two rubies, two wonderfully erect nipples.

He felt his breath hitch, his cock twitch and lord have mercy, the temptation was terrible. Must think unsexy thoughts, must think unsexy thoughts… Meatloaf, smelly shoes, baseball…. Chief Swan…chief Swan watching baseball downstairs… chief Swan watching baseball downstairs while cleaning his gun…. Ugh…

"Isabella Marie Swan, you're gonna be the death of me," Edward tried to growl, but it sounded more like a throaty whimper. He hated how desperate, how needy, he sounded, but he couldn't help it. Not in a moment like this one…

"I can't believe I'm saying this but you need to stop taking your clothes off!"

"Why? Do you want to do that part?"

"It's not that I don't want to," he told her, picking his words carefully. "You have me walking around with a constant hard on. Even when you're not around I get aroused just thinking about you. But don't think for a second that I don't know what you did today."

"Not this again!" her breasts bounced as she threw her hands into the air in frustration. "Nothing happened. Nothing has ever happened between Jake and me."

"Maybe not, but you set this whole thing up. You knew all along what this would do to me. All you had to do was to make sure you were seen with him, make sure you were seen being overly friendly with him at the right place at the right time. You knew it would get back to me. You knew how I'd react. You knew I'd come looking for you and… and…"

"Reclaim you possession, push me up against the nearest wall and mark your territory. Well it worked, didn't it? It got us both hot and bothered. I don't see what your problem is!"

"Don't toy with me Bella, you can't manipulate me into being intimate with you. That is not how your first time… our first time should be."

Her only response was to step out of her panties. "You're such a hypocrite, Edward. You've been deflowering girls left and right since you were fourteen. Jessica, Lauren, Bree… do I need to go on? Everyone but me..."

There was that pout again, only this time it was accented by her lack of underwear.

Focus, Cullen, Focus…

"That's because I Love you. I have never cared about any of those girls like I care about you."

"And yet you wouldn't do this one little thing for me?"

Naked as a Forest Nymph she walked, or rather sauntered, across the room and pulled the bedspread off her bed.

"If you really love me you would do anything for me."

"Emotional blackmail, how very romantic of you!" he snorted, but found his feet moving on their own accord towards the bed.

"My bad, let me give you some options. Thanks to you I'm going to have to get myself off before I can get to sleep or I'll be tossing and turning the whole night through. You can either stay and help me out or you can leave. It's up to you. What's it gonna be?"

And there it was the moment of truth. How much longer could he resist? How much longer did he really want to resist?

Horny teenager as he was he folded like a card house in the slightest hint of a breeze. The temptation was too strong, the lure too irresistible. Despite his best effort to keep his hands to himself and keep them both out of trouble, Isabella Swan would end up losing her virginity a few weeks shy of her eighteen birthday.

As fate would have it didn't actually happen on this particular night though, but only because of a broken headboard. Bella's bed more or less caved in under the weight of the two of them as they toppled onto the mattress together in a not so graceful heap of half-clothed bodies. Edward had to do the classic hide-in-the-closet routine for an hour and a half while chief Swan made an attempt at repairing the blasted thing without taking it out of the room.

So yeah, no cherry was popped that particular night… but it was only a matter of time… Isabella Swan was like a drug he couldn't get enough of, an addiction he had never been able to kick.

Eight years later and Edward still found himself musing over the delicious feeling of something as simple as a stolen kiss on her lips.

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	12. 112 A completely different ball game

Last chapter must have been good or something because I've been getting a few more alerts than I normally do.

I guess that means you liked it, naughty bits and all?

I luv you all... but I luv those who comment more. **...**

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**.  
_Chapter 12 - A completely different ball game_**

**#112**

_What's mine is mine and I do not like to share._

_Your lips will burn, but once the pain subsides, _

_you will experience a peroxide induced high.  
Savor it because it will be the very last thing you ever taste._

**Note # 112** was delivered with a particularly intrusive picture of Edward changing clothes backstage at Forever Dawn after one of his more recent gigs..

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_-5 hours post show-_

The kiss had not passed by unnoticed…

A quick gaze at the alarm clock showed her it was 4:45 in the morning. With a groan Bella rolled over in her new bed in her new one room, one bathroom, one kitchenette apartment and groped for the ringing cell phone on her nightstand. She flipped it open and croaked a 'Hello' into the receiver.

"_Stay away from Edward." _

Bella was wide-awake in a split second.

"Excuse me?"

"_I saw the way you threw yourself at him. Stay away from him. He's mine." _

Bella glanced quickly at the LCD on her phone and cursed silently. It read 'NO CALLER ID'. The voice on the other end was muffled but the aggrieved tone came through loud and clear. She thought quickly, trying to think of something to say to keep the caller on the phone a little while longer.

"He's yours? I had no idea he had someone special in his life. What's your name?"

"_I'm not stupid. I mean what I say. Keep your distance or you'll regret it, slut." _

The phone went dead and Bella put it back on the nightstand.

The glowing red numbers on the alarm had changed to 4:47. It was still dark outside her bedroom window but Bella could already tell that she had a long day of hard work ahead of her.

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_**-At the same time in another part of the building…-**_

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_He came to with a sharp intake of breath and a groan of pain as his body let him know that it was injured. He was cold, colder then he had ever felt in his life and when he tried to open his eyes he found himself completely surrounded by darkness. He could hear voices on the edges of his hearing, but couldn't make out what they were saying. A moment later he felt something being lifted from his head, and he could see. Blinking, he looked up to find a figure leaning over him._

_He tried to move, but his limbs were heavy and sluggish. He felt drained. As though someone had sucked the life right out of him. Fear ripped through his guts. What the hell was happening?_

_Even in his drugged state, he could tell that something was terribly wrong and as the fog in his brain cleared he noticed three things: he was naked, he was laying on a mattress on the floor and a video recorder was playing in the corner of the room._

Edward choked on the scream that jerked him out of his sleep. He always woke up at the same point in the dream. Always woke up to heart palpitations and shivering, the feeling of helplessness gripping his bones and breaking out over his skin in a cold sweat.

An instant later light invaded the bedroom as the door was pulled opened and a friendly familiar face appeared in the opening.

"Are you okay, Edward?" Alice asked in genuine concern. It was Edward's first week in the building, but not the first time Alice had woken to the sounds of his night terror. Her bedroom was nowhere near Edwards, in fact her bedroom wasn't even in the same apartment or the same side of the hallway, yet there was no way of not hearing him when the sleep-talking, or rather sleep-shouting, set in. That's how bad his nightmares had been lately.

Steeping inside the room, Alice repeated her question, gently touching her brother's shoulder. Edward didn't answer at first, instead he jerked away from her hand as if it had burned him.

"Sorry, musta been havin' another dream," he finally mumbled laying back down, while his breathing eased.

By that point both Jasper, Bentley and Angela (Elliot's babysitter for the night), had all appeared in the doorway. It seemed like the only one still sleeping was the baby.

"Everything okay?" Jasper, asked with a yawn. He had been around long enough to know that nightmares were a common occurrence for Edward.

"Yeah, it's fine," Edward replied. "I'm sorry I woke you up guys."

"Don't worry about it." Jasper waved him off in casual dismissal. "It almost time to get up anyway." He tried to sound awake and alert but was undermined by another yawn he couldn't quite stifle. "Someone should get some coffee going," he suggested, looking over at his girlfriend pointedly.

They had long since agreed not to make a big deal out of Edward's nightmares or insomnia. Sometimes he slept like a rock, other times he couldn't sleep at all. Fussing over it only made it worse.

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**_-Time 06:04-_**

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_

The minute Bella opened the door between the stairwell and the back entrance she became acutely aware of the presence of another person near the building. There were footsteps echoing in the stillness of the morning.

She immediately picked up her cell phone and re-dialed the last called number.

There shouldn't be anyone else out there in Emmett McCarty's_fenced and gated, private backyard parking space_. Not at this hour, not when she had just received an update on everyone's whereabouts from her colleague. Her instincts told her that something was off.

While she waited for the phone to connect, _the__motion detector light above the_ door clicked on and light flooded the area. All the cars were parked in their respective places. She could not see the gate from where she was standing but it appeared to be closed; otherwise the street noise would have drowned out the sound of approaching footsteps.

Seth's voice boomed through the phone line about half a second before the source of the footsteps came into view. She had no problem recognizing the graceful, bronze haired figure walking quickly towards her.

This realization left her feeling more annoyed than relieved.

"What the hell, Seth," she _growled into the phone__._ "You said Cullen was still in his room, but he's not. He's outside, walking towards me, right now."

"… …. .."

"I don't know,…. sleepwalking? It's you shift. You're the one that's supposed to keep an eye on him."

"…."

"He appears to be fine. I've got your ass covered this time, but we can't have this happen again… I'll bring him up in a few and we'll discuss this later."

She snapped her phone closed just as Edward caught up with her and halted his steps. She saw him do a double take before he _pulled the ear buds of_ his iPod out of his ears and greeted her with a curt nod.

"Bella…uh…_fancy meeting you here_," he remarked _seemingly_ unaware of the stir he'd just caused.

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Uh-uh, busted… Edward sighed inwardly. So much for stepping outside for a quick breather… If his privacy had been limited before, it was non-existent now. Special agent Swan was not glad to find him wandering around on his own, that much was clear.

Placing _a__hand on her hip, she_ gave him a stern look. "Firstly, that's not how you're suppose to address me and secondly what are you doing down here at six o'clock the morning?"

"Right, sorry Ms. Hawkins," he apologized secretly pleased to see her roused out of her usual calm demeanor. She looked positively stunning this morning in comfy, well worn clothes, tussled hair and a face _free of sunglasses and heavy makeup. This was the Bella he remembered _and Christ had he missed the sight of her.

"You didn't answer my question, what are you doing out and about at this hour? How am I suppose to keep you safe if you are not sticking to the rules?" Bella said, tucking an errant strand of hair behind her ear, giving him another stern look.

Edward wondered briefly if her hair still was as soft as he remembered it. Then he realized she was still staring at him waiting for an answer.

He shook his head in an attempt to regain his focus. "Don't be mad. I just wanted a few minutes of privacy to make a call and check in with my father before he leaves for work," he explained pointing to the cell phone in his hand. "And before you say anything, I know I shouldn't be down here alone. Jasper was right here with me, but I had him ran out to get me a pack of smokes. He should be back any minute."

"That's not good enough."

"I know. I'm sorry, but I'm glad we had this little run-in, because we need to talk… in private… Do you have a minute?"

Without waiting for her answer he grabbed a hold of her arm and began steering her towards the parked cars. "I don't want anyone to overhear this conversation," he clarified as he unlocked the doors of his red Ford Cougar.

"Okay, but what is this about?" she asked fumbling with the door handle. "Did you get another envelope?"

"No, not me, I have nothing new to report, but I heard you got a phone call this morning," Edward said as he followed her inside the car.

"How on earth do you know about that?" Bella asked in astonishment.

"It was that lovely colleague of yours, that Clearwater guy, who filled me in. I didn't even know he was one of your guys until he cornered me and gave me a hard time for not sticking to the plan. He IS one of your guys, right?"

"Sorry, about that. Agent Clearwater is supposed to stay in the background and only intervene when absolutely necessary."

"So is it true then?"

"That I got a phone call? Yes, that is in fact true."

"No, I meant is it true that I jeopardized the whole operation by being overly friendly with you last night, because if that's the case then I apologize. That was never my intention."

"You shouldn't have acted on your own initiative, but I'll let it slide this time. No harm done… well apart from one angry phone call at four in the morning..."

"Welcome to my world," _he said with a sarcastic_ eye roll. "Now take that and multiply it by ten and you have an average day in the life of Edward Cullen."

"Dealing with phone threats is part of my job," Bella pointed out calmly. "The call came a little sooner than expected, that's all. Had I been prepared, I might have been able get more out of it."

"I acted on impulse. It won't happen again." Edward sighed _suddenly feeling_ very, very tired. "Look, I just had this sudden urge to shake things up a little, to push a few buttons, to provoke some sort of reaction…."

_He saw _her face twist into a frown_ at his words and hurried to explain himself._

"Not your buttons obviously, the stalker… I meant the stalker… Provoke the stalker into making mistakes… or something like that… F*ck, I'm not sure exactly what I was trying to achieve…" _he trailed off, running_ a hand through his hair. "I don't know how much more of this I can take. I really want this nightmare to be over. "

"That's understandable. Next time I'd appreciate if you let me pull the shots though."

"I guess I went a little overboard," he admitted, looking somewhat embarrassed. "I mean, it was disrespectful of me, with your husband not even cold in his grave yet…"

She didn't respond at first, and Edward was afraid he'd upset her by the mere mention of the word husband. "Shit! Look, forget I brought it up. Let's finish this conversation some other time, okay?"

His apology came out in a rush of breathless words and his hand was already grasping for the door handle. He was already halfway out of the car.

"Edward wait, it's okay…" Bella reached out and pulled him back in his seat. "Let's finish this here and now."

Edward squirmed in his seat. Her hand was on his thigh, dangerously close to his groin, holding him down, stopping him from leaving. Did she know the effect her touch had on him? Was she even aware she was (sorta) copping a feel? Apparently not or she would have removed her hand by now…. Wouldn't she?…

"My marriage was doomed from the beginning, it died long before my husband did, but that does not mean I'm free to pose as your girlfriend. I'm here to do a job in the most efficient means possible. Every facet of every move must be carefully planned and coordinated."

"So what do you expect me to do? Just sit back and roll my thumbs?"

"No, but I expect you to thrust my judgement and follow my rules. No more surprises, capish? "

"Okay fine", he muttered sourly. "I'll try to remember that."

"A friendly hug here and there is one thing but when you start kissing me without warning… that's a whole different… uhm… 'ball' game." As the word 'ball' left her tongue she gave his upper thigh one final squeeze and retracted her hand with a smirk.

"Come on Romeo, I have work to attend to. Let's get you back inside before your sister sends out a search party."

* * *

AN:

Some questions for you all:

-The back story... You want more? I wasn't originally planning on incorporating this much of their past in the story but once you start... There are a few loose ends to tie up before moving on.

- The romantic development... Is it too slow? Naturally there will be romance and lemons and stuff but I was originally planning on making it a slow burning process.

- The stalker plot line... I have been leaving little hints and clues in almost every chapter, but its difficult for me to know whether they are too subtle or too _obvious or what_. I want it to be at least somewhat realistic.


	13. 113 Venomous

**Chapter 13 – #113- Venomous**

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**Note #113**

_When a snake hisses_

_it is not wise to pretend_

_it's a kitten_

_.  
_

No photos, no envelope just a gift in a red backpacker and a note.

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_._

_Monday_

.

It was Monday afternoon and Bella had been working the front desk at the gym for six hours straight without a break. Her work consisted mostly in keeping an eye on the high tech FBI equipment that they had installed throughout the building; fourteen cameras, five motion detectors, numerous door switches and contact sensors and a face recognition system. She was registering every single person moving in and out of the building all the while pretending to be a regular desk clerk working side by side with the ever charming Rosalie McCarty/Cullen.

When her phone vibrated in her pocket at 1500 she was tempted to ignore it and just collapse into the nearest chair and kick off her shoes. She knew she couldn't, though, so she pulled it out and checked the coded text message on the LCD display. To anyone else, it would just look like a bunch of numbers. To Bella, the message was clear; her fellow colleague wanted an update ASAP. She groaned inwardly. So much for her ten minutes break…

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.

"We have to stop meeting like this," Bella muttered as she let herself be dragged into what appeared to be a supply closet.

"Sneaking around is half the fun," Seth chuckled and whipped out his palm pilot. "How long do we have before they start looking for you?" he asked as he punched in his PIN code.

"I'm supposed to manage the front desk in about fifteen minutes so that Rose can take her break."

"Okay, let's keep this brief then. Is there anything I should know about?"

"Nah, I don't have much of interest to report," Bella said with a slight shake of her head. "The gym has been busy per usual but only a handful of people have ventured upstairs, all of which have been captured on camera. You shouldn't have any problem identifying them. There was an UPS delivery guy here at 1445. He left again four minutes later and there are two girls from 'Top To Bottom' cleaning service working in apartment #18 right now."

"And Cullen?"

"He's been cooped up in his room most of the day. He's working on the score to some documentary about leafcutter ants in Arizona… or was it Utah?... "

"Fascinating I'm sure, speaking of which, what do you make of the note this morning?"

Bella sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "A pathetic display of obsessive-possessiveness and repressed anger… the usual… The steady stream of new photos are alarming though."

"I agree. With the changes we have made over the last two weeks, the security is now as tight as it gets, but we still haven't been able to shake this stalker. You know what the means don't you?"

"It confirms that the person we are looking for is someone with inside connections."

"Precisely... I'll lay my bets on a young girl, early or mid twenties. More than likely someone's little sister, or someone's little sister's best friend. I'll be looking into that…"

"You do that and I'll keep focusing on befriending the inner circle."

Seth nodded and tucked his palm pilot back into the inner pocket of his jacket.

"We'll talk again in a few hours."

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.

_Wednesday_

Dang! Jasper and Emmett were right. She did look all fit and fabulous these days…

That realization came to Edward at seven a clock in the morning, while he was on the exercise bike in his brother's gym forcing himself through another early morning workout session.

The object for his distraction, Special agent Swan, his gym partner slash constant shadow, could only be described as a force of power in the gym. Where had the clumsy teenager he remembered so fondly disappeared to? The grown-up version of Bella moved through her workout routine with both precision and _effortless grace__._

This was Edward's third morning in a row watching her.

He hated early mornings, hated exercising, yet ironically the gym was one of the few places he felt truly safe and secure these days. Mornings between six and eight was for tenants only which meant the gym was more or less deserted, except for various family members (usually just Emmett), a few of the girls on the second floor and of course little miss Arizona Bell Hawkins.

Stealing glances at Bella was quickly becoming just as much a part of his workout routine as sweat and nausea. This particular morning Bella kept herself busy on the treadmill as she waited for him to finish his cardio. Her form-fitting exercise pants and matching sports bra left very little for imagination. And Edward couldn't help but gawk at her as he pedaled his way through his workout. Mainly because he liked what he saw but also because he was curious to see if he could catch her looking back… but she never did.

As conceited as it may sound, he knew he got his fair share of appreciative glances from females of all shapes, sizes and ages, but Agent Swan for the most part kept her eyes averted. It was perhaps better that way, less complicated.

The problem was that he still felt that undeniable attraction to her. Eight years had done nothing to diminish the effect she had on him. This was exactly why he had been against the idea of having her there in the first place. He felt like a heel for lusting after newly widowed woman and the fact that she was an FBI agent didn't help much either…

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.

Forty minutes later Edward forced his poor body to do one more sit-up before he collapsed onto the sweat covered exercise mat. "Three hundred", he declared between pants.

Bella smiled at him. She had done five hundred sit-ups after running half a mile and beating the hell out of the punching bag. All he had accomplished was to do the sit-ups and ride the stationary bike for thirty minutes. In other words, compared to her he was in a piss-poor shape. Not that it was a competition in any way, but it sure felt good to see him sweat.

With a smirk on her face she encouraged (the by now utterly exhausted) Edward to hit the shower. Her Her smirk quickly turned into a frown though as Edward yanked his t-shirt off and used it to wipe the sweat from his chest as he walked out of the gym.

He always finished his workout session this way and it always took tremendous self-control not to stare at his bare-chested glory, and it was a lot of glory….

Despite her attempt to stay professional, Bella wasn't immune to his charm and good looks. She had, however, long since decided that his ego didn't need anymore boosting. Besides this morning she had other more important things to concentrate on…

There were four other tenants in the gym and Bella had some snooping around to do...

Ushering Edward off to the dressing room, she signaled to Seth, who was standing guard by the door, to keep an eye on the hallway. With both men out of the way she was ready to get some work done…

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.

_Thursday_

.  
_Another Thursday gig at Forever Dawn…_

Show time was fast approaching... Excitement and nervousness was in the air. The opening act, that's right he had his own opening act these days, had just finished their set and Edward was only seconds away from entering the stage.

He was nervous. Actually, he was beyond nervous he was terrified..

The security was as tight as ever, even more so now with FBI working on the case, but Edward couldn't help but feeling like he was about to walk out on that stage wearing a bull's-eye.

Damn! He hated feeling this vulnerable.

He was used to performing in front of this audience and used to dealing with this crowd, but lately, he seemed to look at each one and wonder if they were sending him the letters. And it was driving him nuts. He hated not being in control of his own life anymore.

Jasper started playing the opening notes of the first song and he knew he needed to get himself together and walk out on the stage ASAP. He couldn't see the crowd, but he could sure hear them as they erupted into clapping and cheering. Sometimes, he lived for this, the pure innocent reaction from the audience… Sometimes it scared the living daylight out of him…

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.  
"Anyone got a pen? Why don't I ever have a pen when I need one? A pen? Anyone?"

Still vibrating with post-show buzz Edward dug through his pockets with no success.

"Ouch! Hey, watch those elbows. Can't this wait until we get home," Rosalie muttered, scooting as close to the door as she could get. "This is quite possible the smallest limousines I have ever seen in my life."

"Come on, someone's got to have a pen! "

"Try the laptop case," Bella suggested from the front seat.

"What laptop case? I don't have a laptop case…"

"My laptop case," she clarified turning around to point it out for him. "It's the one that looks like a backpacker, the red one, by your feet."

"Oh, thanks."

He quickly picked it up and pulled the zippers open.

Later, Edward would wonder when he'd developed such fast reflexes, but the moment he saw what was in the bag, he threw it back in the floor and pulled his feet up onto the seat, hugging his knees to his chest. It was good that he'd moved so fast, because the new inhabitant of the bag hadn't been happy about being disturbed.

"Stop the car! Stop the car NOW!" I mean RIGHT NOW! Stop this bloody car NOW!"

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.

"Are you alright, Edward? You didn't get bitten or anything did you?"

"No. No, I didn't get bitten. God, Bella! Why would someone put a snake in your bag? How did they get a snake in your bag?"

"Calm down, Edward. We'll figure that all out."

Bella had a pretty good idea WHY her bag had been the chosen one, but she had no clue to HOW the snake had gotten there without her knowing it.

It wasn't until hours later when the snake and the laptop case had been thoroughly examined that they finally got some answers. First of all, it wasn't her laptop case. It looked similar, but the design was slightly different and the brand name was wrong. The two bags must have been switched sometime during the day.

The animal control officer informed them that the snake was venomous, but that its venom sacks had been removed.

Venomous or not, a bite from a snake that size would have hurt like hell, the officer told them, making Edward turn pale.

It was also helpful to know that the snake was tagged with an AVID microchip. This was the  
first good lead they had had in weeks.

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.

AN: Snakes are my biggest fear for sure, be it a rubber snake or a picture of one, I loath the creatures.


	14. 114 Grey zone

**Chapter 14– #114 – Gray Zone**

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**.**

**Note # 114**

_This feeling of pending doom consumes_

_Like a snake closing in on its prey._

_So vulnerable, and yet so knowing_

That a life will soon come to an end.

.

Note** # 114** came in a red envelope attached to the tail of a mouse - not a computer mouse, but a live furry one. Only it hadn't been alive for quite some time...The envelope came attached to the corpse of a rodent delivered in a coffin-looking cardboard gift box.

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.

Bella waited patiently until the wee hours of the morning before she made her move. A quick glance at the watch on her arm told her that she had at least another two hours before sunrise.

She was dressed from head to toe in black; black to become non-descriptive, black to blend in with the shadows.

Drastic situations call for drastic measures…so drastic in fact that if she was caught the bureau would most likely deny all knowledge of her nighttime activities.

The hallway was empty in both directions. There were no voices, no noises coming from behind the closed doors she passed. The lack of light didn't slow her pace in the slightest. She had enough time in the building to have every turn and every corner memorized.

Her hand glided across the wall as she felt and counted the doors she passed until she reached the right one, door number nine.

Glancing around once more to be sure she was alone, she pulled out a couple of small tools from her pocket and crouched down to pick the lock.

She was inside in less than two minutes. Entering as quietly as she could, she listened intently for any sounds of movement in the apartment. She heard nothing, save the ticking of a clock and the hum of the central air-conditioning unit.

Both bedroom doors appeared to be closed and both tenants appeared to be sleeping. Deciding that the coast was as clear as it ever was going to get, Bella risked whispering into her headset. "Passing mark two, head…onto…mark three."

There was a brief crackle of static in her ear followed by a male voice. "Didn't catch that. Can you repeat?"

"I'm about to head onto mark three "

"What? I can't hear you."

Bella heaved an inward sigh and rephrased her words. "The hawk is in the nest where the two sparrows are sleeping."

"That's better. The wolf is lurking in the woods. Howl if you need me."

Shaking her head, Bella clicked her comm. unit again. "I can hold my own thank-you-very-much. I suggest radio silence from here on out."

"Roger that. Over and out"

Bella ended the conversation with an "Over and out." and then, there was silence again. Embracing the darkness, she remained still for a few, calm heartbeats while she planned her next move. Her first mission was to secure an escape route in case of emergency. It was an easy task, she had been in this apartment before, less than 24 hours ago, sharing lunch with two of the tenants. Retracing her steps from her previous visit she quickly managed to locate and unlock the door leading out to the balcony.

Next step was to take a closer look at the two bedrooms. She kept close to the wall and used her hands again to guide her, stepping carefully since objects could have been moved, creating physical obstructions in her path.

Just then, something soft and silky brushed against her hand and her brain immediately leaped to images of dead mice and hairy spiders… and snakes… She retracted her hand hastily, but thankfully suppressed the squeal rising in her throat.

'Jesus Bella, get a grip,' she chided herself. The object in question wasn't a snake, it was a pedestal table with a flower in a vase on top of it. Willing her heart rate to return to normal, she stepped around the table and continued towards the first one of the two bedroom doors.

The door squeaked a little as she pushed it open. The room was dark and quiet and the shutters were closed. She would have to use a flash light to get her work done, and she would have to be careful not to direct the light anywhere near the sleeping form on the bed.

In the semi-darkness, Bella could make out a bed, two closet door, a desk with a chair and an antique chest serving as a bedside table.

This was Tanya Denali's room, or Tatyana Lyudmila Denali, Bella noted as she flipped through the expensive looking wallet she had found in one of the drawers. Tanya had an Alaskan drivers license, but also a few Russian looking phone cards tucked away with the rest of her plastic cards.

Along with the wallet Bella had also located a designer handbag, a laptop and a few other things that she thought was worth taking a closer look at. Starting with the handbag – a vintage leather cream gold patchwork bag, with a long braided leather shoulder strap – she carefully examined each of the objects she had put aside.

It took her about 20 minutes before she was done and could move on to the next bedroom.

She felt she knew the two roommates pretty well by the time she left the apartment… Tanya and Angela…Tanya liked exclusive lacy lingerie, designer clothes and French Perfume. Biggest surprise (or maybe not) was the stash of pot and the two vials of what appeared to be crystal meth in the toiletry bag. 'Expensive taste, expensive habits,' Bella though to herself as she made a mental note to check what kind of income this woman generated.

Angela Weber, in the second bedroom, on the other hand came across as a compulsive neat freak. Her part of the apartment was tidy to the point of looking unused. Color coded day planner, books in alphabetical order, spotless shoes, clothes folded neatly in piles of different sizes and colors. No surprises there...

Two down, two to go…

Bella left the two-bedroom-apartment in the same state she had found it and moved down the hallway to the next apartment, where an unknowing Tyler Crowley was snoring away peacefully. It took Bella ten minutes to find the brochure from Bronx zoo. It took her another four minutes to find the knife tucked away in a pair of boots. After another four minutes she stumbled across a notebook hidden behind some CD's.

The notebook turned out to be a collection of names and dates, printed in very small letters. She had to strain her eyes to read it. The curtains had been left open, allowing the pale, pre-dawn light to aid her in her effort to grasp the context of the text. Fascinating reading really, it looked like Tyler_was running an illegal sports-betting operation out of his home. Or maybe he was just the middleman collecting the money for someone else… either way it was something worth taking a closer look at…_

The next door on her list turned out to be unlocked and there was a crack of light coming from underneath the door. She had her ear pressed against the door listening for signs of activity on the other side, when, without warning, the door suddenly flew open. Caught of guard Bella struggled to regain her balance. Before she quite knew what had happened, she found herself dragged of the floor and through the open door into the apartment.

.

(AN: It was my intention to en here and leaving you with a cliffhanger… )

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.

"So, we have concealed weapon, drug possession_, __records of illegal betting_ activities and a brochure from the reptile house at Bronx zoo," Junior field agent Seth Clearwater summarized his colleague's findings by listing them off on his fingers. When he was done, he smiled approvingly. "That ought to give us something to work with."

"I know," Bella nodded, quite pleased with herself.

Half an hour had passed since Seth had knocked the wind out of her outside that last apartment, Sandro Scocco's apartment. An embarrassing rookie mistake on both their parts which they had agreed to chalk up as a case of miss-communication. They had since then retreated into their makeshift office, a van parked a few blocks away, to compare field notes.

"Don't forget that shoebox of fake id's we found in Sandro's apartment. I know he's a college kid but no one needs that many fake id's. "

"You're probably right. The name on the lease of the apartment is Sandro Scocco, but the car he's driving is registered to an Alec Laurent and there was a third name printed on cable TV bill we found; Alexander de Volterra. "

"Something about those names sounds familiar but I can't put my finger on it," Bella said, drumming her fingers against the plastic door panel she was using as a armrest. ""What about the top floor? Did you find anything interesting up there? They all came out clean, didn't they?"

"Pretty much," Seth agreed. "The only thing worth mentioning is the massive amount of prescribed drugs that I found. There were enough pills to start a small pharmacy. I guess that's one of the perks of having a daddy that's not only a doctor but owns his own pharmaceutical cooperation. "

Fiddling with his ever-present Palm Pilot, Seth started rattling off a list that included at least three different types of sleeping pills, a couple of painkillers and some muscle relaxers.

"Edward's name was on most of the bottles and packages but another name popped up a few times…. M. Miller."

"Where did you find those?" Bella said, sounding somewhat alarmed.

"Edward's gym bag. Looks like someone is popping pills they don't want daddy C to know about."

"Give them to me and I'll look into it straight away."

"Obviously I left the pill bottles where I found them. Wouldn't want anyone to know we searched the room, now would we?" Seth remarked as he produced a zip lock bag with two Tylenol sized white pills out of his back pocket. "But I have these and I also have a few photos of the labels. I'll send them to you once I have had time to edit them. I had no light to work with so they are a bit on the dark side."

"Don't bother with that. I'm a whiz at Photo Shop. Just send them over straight away. And don't forget to wipe the memory card clean once you're done. The fewer that knows what we have been up to tonight the better."

"Gee, Paranoid much!"

"Better safe than sorry."

"Alright, alright. Check your inbox, Swan. You've got mail."

"Perfect!" Bella flipped her laptop open. "So, two pills and some blurry photos, that's all you got tonight then, Seth?" she asked as she waited for her computer to boot up.

"Well, no, there was actually one more thing that really surprised me…."

"What was that?"

"The sleeping arrangements…."

"Sleeping arrangements? Really? How come?"

"They were all crammed into McCarty's apartment for starters. The girls and the baby were in one room, the big guy, Emmett, was on the living room couch while the remaining two, Cullen and Whitlock, had the second bedroom all to themselves. For a moment there I thought I had walked in on some kinky man-on-man orgy action but then I realized that at least one of them was fully dressed."

"Sorry, I should have warned you about that…"

"About the orgy?"

"No, no… about Edward and his sleep issues. It has gotten pretty bad as of lately. From what I've heard, he's developed insomnia as a result of recurring nightmares. Apparently the others have started taking turns keeping him company at night, playing cards and video games late into the morning. Alice says it's more of a giant ongoing slumber party than anything else."

"I see… What about the babysitter? What about Angela Weber? Does she have a standing invitation to these slumber parties? She has been seen coming in and out of that apartment quite a few nights these last couple of weeks."

"Right, I've noticed that too. I suppose it is possible that she's using her babysitting duties as an excuse for something else," Bella commented, biting her lower lip to keep from frowning. "She's well liked by the others though. Never causes an problem."

"Don't you find it strange that our stalker has never mentioned this girl. I mean, Ms Weber is young and attractive and she does spend a considerable amount of time around Cullen, but so far there have been no signs of jealousy directed towards this girl. Why is that?"

"I don't know, you tell me. You seem to have given it some thought."

"As I see it there are only two reasonable explanations. One; because this girl isn't considered a threat, or two; because this girl IS the threat."

"You think we should take closer look at Ms Weber, is that what you are saying?"

"Bingo!"

"Okay fine, but this girl is the sweetest thing ever. Sickeningly sweet actually, very polite and very well mannered. I've never even heard her raise her voice."

"We should leave no stones unturned."

"I still say we should focus on that Victoria woman, the redhead from the surveillance tapes."

"Ah, the infamous redhead…" Seth sighed wistfully. "We're only halfway through the tapes but so far she has been spotted numerous times, both at the club and in the hallways of Cullen's old apartment building."

"But still no sightings of her around this place?"

"Nope, but we're working on it. Speaking of which, how is the list coming along?"

"What list?"

"Cullen's list of ex's and sexual conquests. Jenks has been asking for it."

"Again? I had been hoping to put that off a little while longer. It's not going to make me very popular with Edward. He is not too keen on the idea of us prying in his private life."

"I'm sure you can find a way to drag the names out of him… Seduce him if you have to, you have my permission."

"Very funny," Bella muttered, rolling her eyes.

"Aww come, don't tell me you haven't noticed the way he's looking at you?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." She tried to shrug it off, but a girlish blush betrayed her.

Seth said nothing, he just raised one eyebrow and maintained his stupid grin.

"Okay, fine, I've caught him looking at me a few times… I know better than to encourage him though. There's a little bit too much at stake here, wouldn't you agree?"

"I don't know, you tell me. You seem to have given it some thought," Seth teased with a sly smile. "You're looking awfully red there, Swan."

"What is this, pick on Bella day or something?"

"Bella my dear, everyday is pick-on-Bella-day. You should be used to it by now."


	15. 115 In the Darkness of the Night

**Chapter 15– #115- In the Darkness of the Night**

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**# 115**

_I am dead serious. _

_That should be clear._

_The fact you do not know my real name, personal details, etc... is irrelevant. _

_All you need to know is my ideas and my intentions. _

_The fruits of these intentions will be made clear when I am ready to present them. _

_In the meantime, know that_ _all shadows are gray no matter what color they fall upon._

It was Rosalie who found note # 115 in the lunch room at the gym. The note was not in an envelope. It was just a big piece of paper _stuck to the refrigerator_ with a Snoopy magnet. Anyone who walked by could have read it.

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.

Closing her laptop, Bella set it down on the floor next to her bed. Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she stood up and stretched her arms above her head. She hated paperwork - not necessarily because she didn't like the work itself, although quite often there were other things she felt her time could be better spent on, but because working on her computer for several hours at a time always resulted in tired muscles and headaches.

The case was moving forward at an excruciatingly slow pace. They had managed to form a fairly good idea of what kind of person they should be looking for, but it was becoming increasingly apparent that the stalker was covering her tracks very well…. Yes HER as in female…. The graphology analysis had confirmed that the handwriting most definitely belonged to a woman.

The profiler from the Behavioral Analysis Unit not only agreed but was willing to take it one step further by suggesting that the subject was a young, mid 20 something, white Caucasian or Euro-American female with a mid to high level IQ.

The motive, however, was still to be ascertained. The written threats were all laced with a yearning for revenge and retaliation, but it was also believed that some degree of mental illness was involved—or at the very least, an obsessive and unhealthy desire for domination, psychological manipulation, and control.

Stifling a yawn Bella plugged her cell phone into it's charger and set her alarm clock for 5:30 before she kicked off her slippers and climbed into the bed.

The lab technicians had confirmed that all the photographs, both the recent candid ones and the older studio shots were in fact authentic. They had also found traces of chemicals that indicated that at least some of them were developed in a home photo lab setting. That was, however, pretty much the only solid lead the photos had provided at this point and even those could not be verified with 100% certainty.

Bella's most promising finding, the snake, had unfortunately turned out to be more or less irrelevant. The microchip had been traced to a pet store in Brooklyn, but the store had been out of business for a little over six months due to bankruptcy… Another dead end in other words…

The further the investigation had progressed, the more bizarre twists and frustrating dead ends had been encountered.

Fighting back another yawn, Bella switched off the lamp on the nightstand and settled down for the night.

The 'not getting anywhere' was beginning to take its toll on her. Without significant leads or suspects she had about as much authority as a glorified bodyguard. What had started as a simple stalker case had quickly escalated into a bizarre cat and mouse game… or maybe in this case; a snake and mouse game…

And then there was the ongoing murder investigation. Could there really be a connection between the two cases? Something kept nagging at her in the back of her mind and she felt like she was missing something… but what that something was, she didn't have the slightest clue. Her thoughts were running in circles and it was giving her a headache.

Rolling over she sighed and closed her eyes willing her body to relax. She'd think about all this in the morning, she promised herself. Right now she needed sleep.

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.

That night she dreamed of Edward Cullen for the first time in years.

In her dream she was back in Forks, back to the weeks preceding her eighteenth birthday.

There was a time when Bella would have done just about anything to get out of her court ordered custodial summer visits in Forks. It was a no-brainer really. Who in their right mind would want to spend their summers in the dimmest corner of rainy Washington state? Especially if they had the option of spending them elsewhere, say somewhere warmer like California for example where her step dad Phil had his neat 'little' seven bedroom, nine bathroom mansion.

Not that she had anything against spending time with her biological father per say. Truth be told though, at seventeen she hardly knew the man. Her parents had been divorced for as long as Bella could remember and Charlie had become a distant presence, a shadowy figure in her life. From what she could tell he appeared to be a decent man, a bit on the boring side perhaps and a bit strict, but then again he was the chief of police so nothing else was to be expected. Not everyone can be as charismatic and easygoing as Phil.

Bella had been fifteen the year her mother had gotten herself remarried to Phil. Her mother had gone out to buy soy milk one morning, but instead of bringing home a grocery bag she had return fourteen hours later with a silly grin on her face and a new man on her arm. That's how Bella first came to meet Phil Dwyer, a retired major league baseball player, whom Renee had fallen head over heels for after having backed into his car at the Whole Foods parking lot.

Renee's biggest obsession at that time had been organic food, which would explain why she would drive all the way across town to purchase a gallon of milk. Phil on the other hand couldn't care less about toxic free, bio-dynamically produced milk. The only reason he was there, on that particular parking lot, at that particular time was to stock up on some fancy, smancy Creatine diet supplement that he needed to keep his back injury in check.

It was a match made in heaven. Not only did Renee know her way around the overpriced herbal supplements at Whole Foods, but she also happened to be an aspiring alternative medicine healer and a huge baseball fan.

Luckily the infatuation was mutual. Phil Dwyer was more than a little smitten with the slightly older, but utterly charming (read quirky) Renee Higenbotham and he was surprisingly open to the idea of taking on a teenage stepdaughter. You see Phil was in the midst of launching a political career and accessories like a wife, a kid and a readymade family would undoubtedly look good to have by his side when campaigning for higher office.

Whatever his motives were, Phil Dwyer was a generous man, both with his love and his money. The wedding occurred only three moths after their first meeting. This was fine with Bella, she had no complaints. As long as her mother was happy, Bella was happy as well. And why wouldn't she be, she lived a rather comfortable life under the glow of the Californian sun for the next year and a half.

That's when the shit hit the fan, or rather that's when the local press got their hands on some compromising nudie video footage. Footage of Renee and Phil getting it on in a swimming pool; a semi public, outdoor, hotel swimming pool. And not just any hotel, the pool belonged to the plush five star hotel where Phil insisted on staying (courtesy of the taxpayers) despite the fact that he owned a perfectly nice overnight apartment just a few blocks from there.

Coincidentally or perhaps not so coincidentally the footage in question was leaked just in time for the annual convention about ethics in the Public Service. Contrary to popular belief, all publicity is not good publicity…

One should perhaps be thankful that it was his wife and not some random groupie keeping Phil company in that pool, but still… There were nipples and ass shots and almost complete frontal nudity — the whole nine yards… Absolutely nauseating!

As you can imagine, the humiliation of having your mothers tities plastered on the front page of every newspaper in town, was harsh. If the press coverage had been bad, the high school rumor mill was even worse. Teenagers aren't exactly known for their tact and maturity. School became a nightmare of brutal teasing and isolation. When Bella's attendance began to drop to the point where her grades were affected it was quickly decided that she would go stay with her father until the whole thing had blown over…or until she had secured her high school diploma, whichever much anticipated event occurred first… And that's how Bella at the age of seventeen ended up moving to Forks.

Living in Forks had been a big adjustment. Not just because of the rain and the small town mentality, but because Charlie's parenting style was completely the opposite of Renee's. Where her mother had always been the happy-go-lucky type, childlike with the emotional age of a teenager, her father was strict and authoritative. He was the Chief both at work and at home.

Bella had never experienced anything like that before. Sure, there had always been chores, like cooking and cleaning, but she had never had to deal with curfews, random room searches or dinner table interrogations before. She had never had anyone care enough to yell at her for staying out late or getting home drunk. It was oddly comforting, yet stifling and quite frustrating at the same time.

Forks definitely had its perks, though. _She had made some__real, honest-to-god friends there, something _she'd always had a huge shortage of in her life up to that point.

And then there was Edward... devastatingly handsome yet alarmingly sensitive. He was known as quite the trouble maker, always brooding, always acting tough, but once you got to know him he had a gentle soul. And he was amazingly talented both with his lyrics, his instruments and his hands…. My God the things he could do with those hands…

Yep, Forks most definitely had its perks.

Bella had only had one wish for her birthday that year; she had wished for her hotter-than-hot secret boyfriend to… well, in lack of better words…. "sex" her up...

At that point they had been sneaking around for months. Chief Swan wouldn't let her date anyone, let alone go anywhere near one of the Cullen boys. All the secrecy and the thrill of sneaking around had her teenage hormones rocketing all over the place and she wanted nothing more than to lose her virginity to him… to Edward.

It was those memories that haunted her sleep, the attempted seduction of Edward Cullen. Seriously, of all the things to dream about at night, that's what her brain cooked up? And of course it had to be one of those dreams you remember vividly, and in detail, upon waking up.

In her sleep she was chasing him, literally running after him with the intention of jumping his bones. Dream Edward wasn't very cooperative mind you, but then again neither had the real life version been, at least not initially. For some obscure reason he had insisted on drawing the line at heavy petting. He wanted to wait, wanted it to be perfect and romantic and memorable... Who knew teenage guys could be such girls! One would think he was the virgin and not the other way around! He wasn't though, and if the stories whispered in the girls' restroom at school were true, he hadn't been a novice in that field for quite some time…

She had always suspected that his reluctance to 'put out' was because her cop father had some kind of hold on him, which Edward of course would never admit to… the only other reasonable explanation she could think of was that he was getting 'it' elsewhere…. something he denied strongly and with vigor. Whatever his reasons were, he did not give up easily and neither did Bella, so the whole thing quickly became a power struggle between the two over who would cave first.

Bella remembered trying every trick in the book to seduce him. Of course 'the book' had been rather thin at the time, her being an inexperienced seventeen-year-old virgin and all, and her efforts had ended up being more pathetic and needy than anything else….

In her dream her methods were a little more straightforward, a little more refined, but she never got the chance to reap the rewards of her efforts because like most dreams, it was over before she got to the really good stuff.

Isn't that typical!

But then again maybe it was all for the best, because as eh… spectacular as the actual deflowering of Bella Swan had been in real life it was not something she was very keen on revisiting, not even in her dreams.

Not that it hadn't been everything she had hoped for…initially… wonderfully sweet and incredibly hot, but then it turned messy, slightly painful and awkward… majorly awkward.

Like with anything else though, it held the promise of getting better with practice… and practice they did, until chief Swan intervened.

Needless to say, no teenager wants to get caught in the act by a parent. Hands down one of the most embarrassing moments of her life. Well, that and having to listen to her father re-enact the whole event to the Cullen's and then having to sit through Dr. Cullen's inquires about weather or not it had been consensual and what kind of birth control they had used. Bella couldn't help but shudder at that particular memory. Lots and lots of nightmare material right there.

Aware that her mind was running in circles, and not in the right circles either, Bella fumbled with her cell phone on her bedside table.

4:54 am

She rolled over.

She rolled over again…

4:55 am

After another half an hour worth of tossing and turning She finally gave up. Scooting off the bed, she dragged herself into the kitchenette area of her small apartment.

"Stupid dream. Stupid brain. …" she grumbled to herself as flung the refrigerator door open and poured herself a glass of milk.

In hindsight she knew good old Charlie had been right to nip things in the bud all those years ago. The way he had gone about it had been a bit over the top though (read: borderline crazy), with the loaded gun, the handcuffs and the screaming and all, but he had been right none the less.

Who meets their soul mate at the age of seventeen? That sort of thing only happens in fairy tales.

Of all the things to dream about…


	16. 116 4 phone calls and 1 hospital visit

**Chapter 16– #116- Four phone calls and one hospital visit**

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**# 116**

_Another lesson to learn. _

_Another pain to embrace._

**Note # 116** came with a Hallmark card and a box of chocolate.

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**_Phonecall nr 1_**

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Edward was wrestling with the chorus of a new song on his keyboard when his cell phone started ringing. Judging by the sound of the ringtone it was a call from home.

He managed to dig it out of the back pocket of his favorite jeans on the third ring, which was pretty darn good considering those jeans had been piled away in a remote corner of the room with the rest of his dirty laundry.

"Hi, Esme, wassup?"

_"Screening your calls, are you? You sound a bit out of breath. Did I call at a bad time?"_

"Nah, it's cool. I'm still at home. My ten o'clock meeting was canceled so it looks as if we're going to be stuck here for a while."

_"Ah ha, that leaves you plenty of time to chat with your mother then."_

"Yes, you caught me in a good time. So how is everyone? Irina and baby are still visiting, right? Did she enjoy the present we sent?"

_"Yes, she sure did. I think Alice can expect a thank you letter from her in the near future. Speaking of letters…Sweetie, I hate to bring this up but you are still getting hassled by that stalker, right? "_

"Yeah, why?"

"_Your father and I received a very upsetting package just a few hours ago. We thought you ought to be made aware of it."_

"Upsetting how?" Edward asked and braced himself for the answer, not sure he wanted to hear it.

_"Well at first glance it looked like an ordinary gift basket. You know, with exotic fruits, flowers and a bottle of Champaign. Only most of the fruit is spoiled, the flowers are kind of dead and the Champaign… well, the neck of the bottle is broken and about a third of the liquid is pooling into the bottom of the basket."_

Edward rubbed his face in frustration and sighed heavily "Let me guess, it came with a note?"

_"Yes, a perfumed card in a red envelope."_

"Okay, what does the card say?"

_"Happy 20 year anniversary!"_

"What? I don't underst-…"

_"Wait, there was something else in the envelope. An old newspaper clipping…."_

"I still don't understand."

_"It was written 20 years ago. Let me get my glasses and I'll read it for you…. "_

There was a rustle of movements and then his mother cleared her throat and began recite the article.

"_UWSOM Sued for Malpractice Coverup. A federal lawsuit with ugly allegations is boiling over at University of Washington School of Medicine….'_

Edward only heard a fraction of what was being read to him, his mind going into overdrive at the amount of conflicting emotions his mother's words were generating.

"…_no less than four physicians…. sued for allegedly retaliating…accused of protecting an unlicensed department head…"_

Edward's knuckles turned white from gripping the phone too tightly as the memories of the trial came soaring back to him. Not that he had been present in the court room for the actual hearing or anything but he remembered the tension in the air and the sense of crisis surrounding those days. He had been seven years old at the time, too young to really understand what was going on but old enough to know that being put on trial meant that someone had been wronged.

When all was said and done, Carlisle had been exonerated from all charges, but had not been welcome back to his old position at the hospital in Seattle. That's how they ended up in Forks, Esme's old hometown. Evil tongues would say Dr. Cullen bought himself the position of Chief of Surgery at Forks General Hospital but to be honest without his generous donations there wouldn't be a medical facility of that sophistication and size in Forks to begin with.

_"Are you still there sweetheart?"_ Esme's voice broke through Edward's thoughts and he realized he'd left her hanging.

"Sorry, just thinking things through. It's been 20 years, who would still care about or even remember this incident."

_"The court records are public. Anyone can find this information, it's just a matter of looking in the right place."_

Edward cursed at this. "Sorry you had to be on the receiving end like this. The whole thing is sick and twisted on so many levels." He sighed into the phone and then cursed again when another thought struck him. "Please tell me you didn't find the basket and the note inside the house?"

_"No, I found it by the front gate. It must have been delivered sometime between four and seven thirty this morning."_

"Delivered as in dropped off by an over night courier service? Those people keep all sorts of information about their customers in their records, don't they?."

_"I don't know, maybe… It wasn't there when Carlisle went to work this morning. He was called in for surgery at a quarter to four. I spotted it when I retrieved the morning paper a few hours later. We can't know for sure how it got there."_

"What about the surveillance tapes? The gate is camera monitored, isn't it?"

_"The whole security system is out of commission. That's why I didn't call you sooner, I had to get us all to a safer location first."_

"You're at the hospital," Edward guessed. "Have you spoken to the police yet?"

_"No, I mean yes…We're at your fathers office, but we called the security company, not the police. They are looking over the house as we speak. If they find anything they'll notify the authorities. You're father thought it would be better this way."_

"He's probably right. So is he there? Can I speak to him?"

_"Not this very moment. He's busy finishing up with work. He's been in and out of surgery all morning, you know how it is... I'll make sure he gives you a call as soon as he is done here."_

"I could jump on a plane and come see you. Waiting isn't my strong suit."

_"I know, honey, but I think you should stay where you are for now. We'll know more once the security guys are done. We should wait with the conclusions till then."_

"Okay fine, but you'll let me know if anything else happens, right? I'd hate if anything…if you were to get hurt or… if…." he trailed off without finishing his sentence. "Just stay safe, alright!"

_"Of course, honey. We're fine, don't worry about us. You're the one who needs to be extra careful right now. Promise me you won't take any unnecessary risks."_

"Fort Knox has nothing on this place. Don't worry."

_"I'm you mother, it's my job to worry about you."_

"I'm going to hang up now before you start babying me."

_"We care about you, sweetheart."_

"Bye, mom. We'll talk more later."

_"Bye, honey. Stay safe!"_

"Always," he sighed ending the call.

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_**.**_

_**Phonecall nr 2**_

.

_"I'm you mother, it's my job to worry about you."_

"I love you mom but you haven't been my MOTHER since I was 13 years old," Bella sighed and cradled the phone between her ear and her shoulder. "I'm fine, everything is fine. There is nothing to worry about."

_"You say that now, but what if you can't handle the pressure? The __the consequences could be dire. I'm sure under the circumstances that no one would blame you if you handed your assignment over to someone else."_

"And then what? You want me to stay home and do nothing? It's been almost seven months now since…since Jake's passing... I've got to get on with my life." She straightened up in her chair and took a deep breath, "Besides, I shouldn't even be discussing this with you and especially not over the phone. How did you even get this number? It's supposed to be confidential…"

_"Nothing is ever confidential in my world. I'm the wife of a governor now, remember?"_ A sarcastic laugh filled the phone line.

"You are putting my safety at risk here. I'm not supposed to have contact with anyone or anything from my 'real' life while I'm working under cover. Come on, you know this. I've told you how it works several times before."

_"I just think it's too soon, that's all. Why couldn't you settle for a desk job. I could talk to your talk to your old boss. I'm sure he would be delighted to have you back on his payroll."_

"And work with traffic safety? Thanks, but no thanks. I'm quite happy where I am at the moment. Did you hear that? H-A-P-P-Y", she spelled the word out letter by letter. "I'm happy to be working again… Happy and ready to move forward with my life!"

_"Bella, you worry me when you talk like that. You have that tone in your voice…"_

"What tone?"

_"The one that makes you sound like a rebellious two year old. Somebody's been putting ideas into your head. Is there a new guy? Are you seeing someone?" _Renee inquired in a commanding tone of voice.

"Of course not! Don't be ridicules. I'm not even out looking for something like that. My marriage was a mess, you know that. I have learned my lessons the painful way. I'm not gonna rush into a serious relationship anytime soon. "

_"But there is someone, isn't there? I'm your mother, you can't hide those sort of things from me. It's that rich guy, right? That old high school sweetheart of yours that you are working with…"_

"Hey, wait a minute who said anything about a high school sweetheart? Bella asked in a voice that was tinged with suspicion.

Silence filled the phone line for a moment.

_"You did, when you told me about this assignment. You said he was an old boyfriend."_

"No, I just said it was an old friend. I never said anything about an old boyfriend or a HE for that matter. You are doing it again… spying on me and interfering with everything I do… You never change, do you?"

It wasn't a question, it was a statement of fact. Not bothering to deny the accusation, Renee changed her tactics.

_"What was I suppose to do. You abandoned your apartment without as much as a hint of where you were going. You are my daughter, my only living blood relative, I'm worried about you. "_

"Worried about me? Seriously Renee, the only thing you worry about is how my absence is going to affect Phil's chances of getting reelected. It will look bad for his campaign if his stepdaughter, who he claims to love as his own, isn't by his side supporting him…"

Even over the phone line, Bella could hear her mother's sharp intake of breath. She gripped the cell phone a little tighter in preparation for the counter attack she knew was about to come...

_"You are walking on dangerous ground now, Isabella. Tell me something, what does your doctor think of all this?"_

"My doctor?"

_"Dr Barnett, your psychiatrist. I think he'd agree with me that it's too early for you to go back to work. And what about your boss? He'd take you off your precious case if he knew about your medication, wouldn't he?"_

Bella didn't say anything for a moment. Her mind raced. Her head throbbed, and she felt a sickening churning in the pit of her stomach. Finally she found her voice again.

"This is none of your business. Please. Don't do anything…" The phone clicked in her ear. "…stupid. "

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_**.**_

_**Phone call nr 3**_

.

This was not good. This was not good at all…

Moving to Phil's desk, Renee placed the handset of the cordless phone back on its base and

buzzed her husbands secretary on the intercom.

"Karen, I need aspirins."

"Yes, ma'am. I'm on my way. Anything else I can do for you, Mrs. Dwyer."

"Did you reach Dr. Barnett?"

"Yes, he is waiting on line 4."

"Okay, that's all for now."

Slipping her headset back on again Renee took a seat behind the big polished mahogany desk.

"Hey Jon, I'm sorry you were put on hold. I am sure you know why I'm calling…. "

".. ….. …."

"Yeah well, we have a problem. I wanted her more manageable. You promised the medication would make her easier to handle but it appears to have had the complete opposite effect."

"…"

"This was not suppose to happen... I need to know exactly what went wrong… What can we do to fix the

situation?"

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.

Bella looked up from her computer and watched Edward pace the narrow foyer. Four steps and a turn, four steps and a turn… It had been going on for more than five minutes and it was getting rather annoying. The reception area of the gym was only about fifteen square meters. Well, you get the picture…

Bella made sure to save the document she was working on and then she snapped the laptop shut. The noise startled Edward enough to pause mid-stride to look at her.

"Edward, if you keep this up I'll have Emmett come and put you in a spinning class or something."

"I can't help it," Edward groaned as he sank down in the empty chair next to her. "God help me, I think I'm going crazy."

"Well don't look at me. I'm just mortal. You want to talk to God, I suggest you hit your knees and pray, but do it quietly, okay? I'm trying to get some work done over here."

"Very funny! Is that your polite way of saying get lost? Because, correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't your job require that you stay within 30 feet of me at all times?"

"This place is rigged with more cameras than your average reality show house. You're safe for now. "

"Safe, yeah right! That's what you think…," he muttered, with a sidelong glare.

"Okay, I have had enough of this. Whatever it is that's bothering you spit it out already!"

Edward's only response was another glare.

"Is this about tonight? You nervous about going on stage? The security will be tip top, you have nothing to worry about."

"You always say that, but it's just empty words. You want to know what's bothering me? I'll tell you what's bothering me." Moving closer, he lowered his voice. "My parents received a rather disturbing package on their doorstep this morning."

Bella stared at him blankly for several moments. Then she sprung into action. "Oh great! Why wasn't I told? What kind of package are we talking about here Edward? Where can I reach your parents? Are they at home or at work. I'll need more information."

"How about we make a trade?"

"What kind of trade?" she asked warily.

"I'm not stupid Bella. This isn't the work of some delusional lovesick woman. It's time you stop sugar-coating the situation. I know you know more than you're letting on, I want to know what's going on. I have the right to know so that I can protect my family."

"I'll make sure our family is safe. It's my job to do so. You don't have to worry about that…. but okay fine, you're right, we DO need to have a little talk," Bella admitted slowly. "This is neither the time nor the place for it though."

"Name a time and a place and I'll be there."

"Later tonight, after your gig. My place."

"Okay, I'll be there."

"You better be there or I'll find you and drag you there by your testicles."

"Is that a promise?" he asked with that annoying, yet attractive, smirk on his face.

She ignored his comment and handed him a pen and a piece of paper.

"Where are your parents right now; at home, at work? I'll need contact information. Have they spoken to the local police? Find it out and write it down, pronto!"

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_**.**_

_**Phone call nr 4**_

.

This time when the phone rang Edward was sitting backstage at Forever Dawn with his head buried under a towel, breathing in hot air from his vocal steamer.

When he poked his head out from underneath the towel Special agent Swan was standing before him with the ringing cell phone in her hand. "I think you should take it."

"Okay," Edward agreed clearing his throat nervously before he reached for the phone in her hand. The caller id showed a local number, which he didn't recognize.

"Hello, Edward speaking", he answered in a cautious voice.

_"You are doing it again…" The muffled voice on the other end sounded about as cheerful as always. _

"Excuse me?"

_"Shutting me out, refusing me the attention I deserve. What do I have to do to get the message through to you?"_

"You are sick in the head, you stalking bitch!" Edward replied choosing his words carefully to make sure everyone in the room was clued in on what was going on. He knew Bella needed at least two minutes to plug in the tracking device and trace the call.

Rumbling laughter filled the phone line _"No sicker than you my dear…. Another secret uncovered... You seem to have more skeletons than you have closet space... "_

"Leave my family out of this!"

"_Another lesson to learn. Another pain to embrace… The phrase guilty by association never seemed so seemed more appropriate, wouldn't you agree?"_

"Please listen to me, whoever you are. You aren't cute, you aren't funny, and you've destroyed any chance of ever having me for so much as a friend. Take a hint. Leave me alone. And for God's sake, stop calling me."

The phone clicked as the person on the other end hung up. The phone fell to Edward's lap and his hands curled into fists. Would this nightmare never end? Growling in frustration, he slammed both of his fists dawn hard on the coffee table before him.

The impact was enough to not only send two empty bottles flying but also to make the vocal steamer tip over edge off the table.

Edward yelped in surprise as a cascade of boiling water hit him in the chest.

Another lesson to learn. Another pain to embrace… The words rang in his head, and with them came the pain, a fierce, fierce burning pain that seemed to almost consume his mind. A string of angry curse words passed his lips as the hot liquid ran down the front of his shirt and dripped with a sickening tap tap tap onto the floor.

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.

One hospital visit, several icepacks and a whole bunch of painkillers later…

Bella placed her hand by the door handle ready to unlock it but suddenly stopped. A surge of uneasiness came over her at the thought of what was waiting for her on the other side of the door.

Second-degree burns produce severe pain and swelling. Watching Edward be in burning pain was... horrible…The trip to the hospital had brought back a lot of bad memories. She knew she had gotten too involved in the case, too emotionally attached to the victim. Losing one's objectivity meant loosing one's ability to reason clearly. Maybe her mother was right, maybe she had thrown herself back into the game too soon…

She didn't like the feeling in her stomach nor the doubts that were popping up. She wasn't a quitter. She was a survivor and besides Edward needed her. She couldn't turn her back on him now, not when she was already involved.

With renewed determination, she slid the key into the lock and turned it.

Her arrival grabbed the attention of everyone in the room and three sets of eyes turned toward the doorway as she entered the apartment.

Act normal, you fool, she told herself as she closed the door and turned to face them. These people can't know you're having doubts. They depend on you, they trust you - you can't let them down now.

"Sorry, it's just me," she said and smiled in what she hoped was a reassuring manner. "I swear I used the secret knock, did you all miss it? "

Her joke was met with silence. She looked around, surprised to find the otherwise so easygoing Emmett frowning and shaking his head.

When she met Alice's gaze, the woman glared and stormed out on the balcony. Bewildered, she turned to Jasper "What's going on here? I was only gone for five minutes. You guys are acting very strange all of a sudden. Did I miss something while I was out?"

"Did you miss something? Well, let me put it this way, someone threw a tantrum, and it wasn't pretty."

"Oookay and it wasn't Elliott this time, I take it…," Bella scrunched her eyebrows together and glanced around the living room. "So, Edward threw a tantrum, huh? Poor guy, he has had a rough day. Where is he now? He still here, right? Please tell me you didn't let him leave."

"No, he's still here. He locked himself in the bathroom," Emmett informed him with a pointed look.

"He what? Why?"

Jaspers expression turned somber "I guess he needs to be alone."

"Oh…That's understandable considering the circumstances."

"What circumstances?" Emmett asked. "What's going on? Have there been new threats?"

Bella shook her head "I need to see to Edward and make sure he's alright. I can't divulge any information at this point, you guys understand that, right?"

Before they could answer she had already started toleave the room.

**AN: **As always, big thanks to those of you reading and reviewing! As you may realize, english is not my native language and I struggle sometimes to get the words out right. Every little comment is a huge encouragement for me, so keep them coming...

I'm off to spain now (sunday - wednesday) for some sunshine. I would love to see some reviews when I get back...


	17. 117– Bathroom confessions

AN: Now, there are a FEW things that I want to address in this little wrap-up.

Lets start with some Q&A's

_**-  
storyunfolding wrote:**__ Does Bella have a split personality we don't know about. I have suspected for sometime that she may be the bad guy... am I even close or is it someone we don't know?_

My answer would be, no, Bella does not hav a split personality, but her mind is altered by outward influences. She is not always making the most rational, logical and sensible choices. She's not the bad guy ie the one writing the letters. Interesting theory though...

_**TD69 wrote:** Huh…I wonder what Renee is really up to?_

Now that's a good question! Lets recap, what did we learn in the previous chapter? Renee is keeping tabs on her daughter, and is on first name basis with Bella's psychiatrist. Renee would like to see Bella doped up on drugs so that she will be more manageable and 'easier to handle'. Renee does not like Bella's choice of profession.

Why? What are her motives? Renee has some not so charming personality traits. She used to be a rather laid back parent, more of a friend than a mother. Somewhere along the line her perspective shifted, though, mostly because of Phil and his political career. Public appearance suddenly became extremely important, hence her control issues.

Spain and Costa Brava was great! I stayed in a small hotel in Tossa de mar an hour and a half outside Barcelona. It was my second visit in the area. I love Barcelona! I got a well neeeded break. I can't believe I voluntarily stayed offline for four days. That has not happened in years...

Thank you for all the reads so far, keep the reviews coming!

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**Chapter 17 – #117– Bathroom confessions**

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**#117**

_I might not kill you but I'll hurt you till your dead inside._

_**Note #117** wasn't a note, it was a CD-ROM disc with digital photos, hundreds of them. All showing the same thing; Edward interacting with his baby nephew Elliot._

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"Edward? I know you're in there. Open the door!" Bella said, knocking on the bathroom door for the third time. "Let me in. I want to help you."

"I don't need any help," came his grumpy reply.

"Let's talk then. Please?"" Bella begged. "I'll bring you painkillers and ice if you let me in."

A few minutes of silence passed. Bella was just about to give up when she finally heard the lock click. Reaching for the door handle, she opened the door slowly and walked in. Edward was sitting on the floor with his back against the bathtub. He was holding a giant icepack pressed against his chest and his body language spoke of frustration and pain. His eyes were red and puffy and his hair was even more of a wreck than it usually was.

Bella shut the door and locked it behind her.

"I'm locking the door and turning on the water so that nobody will overhear our conversation. Is that okay?" she asked.

He nodded and cleared his throat. "Where are those painkillers you promised?"

"I lied, I don't have any. Sorry…but I know something that is better than painkillers."

"Better than painkillers? Yeah right….," he grumbled, sounding dubious.

"I'll give you one of my famous back rubs. You'll like it, trust me," Bella said and urged him to move away from the bathtub so that she could slide in behind him and take a seat on the edge of the tub.

She put her hands on his shoulders. He jumped at her touch.

"Relax, I'll be careful. I'll stay clear of your bandages and concentrate on your shoulders, okay?," she reassured him as she slowly began rub the tired muscles on the back of his neck.

Edwards response was not exactly enthusiastic but his tense body language spoke volumes to Bella. She could tell by his posture and the tightness of his shoulders that something was really bothering him.

"Edward, why don't you tell me what's wrong?"" she asked as her hands worked their soothing magic.

"Same thing as before. I'm overanalyzing and it's giving me a headache," he admitted with a sigh. "I'm worried… I'm worried about my safety, about my family's safety, about my sanity…. I hate this, I hate having to rely on someone else for protection. I hate having to protect myself against someone who obviously have no idea who I really am. I hate feeling this vulnerable."

"I hate to sound like a quote-grubbing cliche, but you have so many people that care about you and that's where you'll get your strength to get through this. "

"If this is your idea of a pep talk, it's not working too well."

"It's true, though. I wish I had family as devoted as yours. They know what you're going through and they'll be there for you every step of the way. You'll get trough this, you'll see. In the meanwhile, lean your head back and I'll take care of that headache for you."

Without waiting for a response she buried her fingers in his bronze colored curls and began rubbing his scalp in slow gentle circles.

His hair smelled delicious, like coconuts and vanilla, the soft warmth radiating from him, reminding Bella just how long it had been since she had touched anyone, or wanted to be touched in return. It wasn't like that, though. Physical touch was considered appropriate in certain situations. She was being professional, following the rules and getting the job done. At least that's what she told herself as her hands moved from his forehead to the nape of his neck and the back again.

After a while his eyes closed and his lips parted.

"Oh my Lord", he moaned. "You weren't kidding. You're really good at this… "

"I know… And this is just your head and shoulders. Remove your shirt and I show you just how good of a masseuse I really am."

The moment the words left her mouth she knew it had been the wrong thing to say. She could feel his whole body tensing up again.

"My shirt? I don't think so," Edward answered sharply, moving away from her touch.

"What's wrong?" she asked, sliding to the floor beside him.

"My chest… It looks terrible, all red and blotchy. I don't want you to see it. I don't want anyone to see it. It's embarrassing."

"Embarrassing?"

"I have blisters the size of fried eggs on my chest and it's all my own doing. Injured by stupidity, how sexy is that?"

"Aww, give yourself a break. We all mess up at one point or another," Bella said, tugging the hem of her sweatpants down a couple of centimeters to reveal a tiny line of scar tissue stretching across her stomach. "I got this one when I was fresh out of police academy. I tried to arrest a violent pot head but forgot to handcuff him properly. Big mistake…"

"Is that… err…. is that a gun shot wound?" Edward asked, his green eyes huge and curious.

"No, the bastard stabbed me with a coat-hanger ."

"Ouch!"

"Now, this on the other hand…this is a gun shot wound," she admitted, pulling the collar of her shirt over to show another scar on her right shoulder. "I was the first one to arrive at the scene of a gas station robbery slash hostage situation."

"But that's different. You risk your life to save strangers and you have the scars to prove it. That's honorable. "

"It's not that simple. If I get hurt it means I wasn't doing my job the best possible way I can. It means I wasn't watching my back good enough. It means I'm a failure," she answered, getting up and moving across the small bathroom.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but you're obviously still alive and most of your cases turn out just fine. That doesn't sound like failures to me," Edward pointed out, rising to his feet.

"You're right but gunshot wounds don't exactly look good in my resume," she answered with a solemn voice. "Oh, and don't worry, I never make the same mistake twice."

"I know you're doing the best you can. I appreciate your help. I know it may not always sound that way but it's the truth," Edward said coming up behind her.

When Bella turned around he was taking his shirt off.

"If the offer still stands, I think I could use a full-on-backrub."

His words drew her attention from his bandaged chest to his eyes and she was thankful for the dimly lit room as she blushed. Get a grip woman, she scolded herself silently. The man was injured and all she could think of was how manly he looked with his broad shoulders and slim waist.

"Of course it still stands…. I wouldn't… I can't… I mean, you've got to be leaning forward over a stack of towels or something for me to do this," she managed to stutter with a nervous laugh as she motioned for him to make him self comfortable on the floor.

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Bella pushed her thumbs against his higher back muscles experimentally. When he didn't protest, she began kneading more vigorously at the knots of stress she had found in the area just beneath his shoulders.

"Can I ask you a question," Edward inquired as he carefully shifted more weight forward in an attempt to find a more comforting position.

"Fire away."

"Columbia…, " he gritted out between clenched teeth as he readjusted his position again.

"That's not a question, that's a country in northwestern South America."

"It's also an Ivy league school. You didn't let me finish…. What I wanted to ask was if your father's illness was the reason you turned down Columbia?"

There was no verbal response to his question but Bella chose that precise moment to hit a particularly sensitive spot in between his shoulder blades, making him flinch in pain.

"Ouch, that freaking hurt," he yelped, his voice low and strained. "No need to get violent. I'm only asking because I know you had a scholarship everything."

"You thought Jacob was the reason I stayed behind, didn't you?"

"The thought-ugh-did-ugh-crossmymind." His words came out in staccato bursts as he braced himself against the fingers pressing into the small of his back.

"You were wrong, you know. You had no reason to be jealous of Jake. I told you that repeatedly but you but you wouldn't listen to me."

"I'm listening now."

She didn't say anything for a long while, but he could tell, by the way her hands slowed, that she was contemplating her options.

When she finally spoke, her voice was uncharacteristically hesitant. "At first, it was little things that he either forgot or misplaced. I didn't think much of it at the time. I had never really lived with him before so it was a new experience all together… "

"You're talking about your dad, right?" Edward guessed, keeping his tone reassuringly calm despite sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"He was absent-minded, but I thought it was more busy-minded, you know. I thought it was work related or stress related, him being the chief of police and all… "

"Your dad always did take his job pretty darn seriously." Edward recalled with a wince. He had certainly had his fair share of run-ins with chief Swan throughout the years.

"I kept finding strange things in strange places; a pack of tobacco in the bathroom, a pair of socks in the dish washer, a milk cartoon behind the living room sofa. He kept forgetting things like where he kept beloved fishing pole, where he put his keys or left his reading glasses. There was this one time he forgot he had taken the police cruiser to the tire shop after work to get a flat fixed. When it wasn't in its usual spot outside our house the following morning he thought for sure it had been stolen. He got so worked up he was almost hyperventilating. I was afraid he was gonna have a stroke. "

"He got riled up rather easily though, didn't he? Or was that just around me?… I always did suspect he knew I had my mind set on doing all sorts of unholy things to his daughter."

She actually cracked a small smile at that, shaking her head. "You never did rate very high with Charlie to begin with and putting a move on his only daughter sure didn't help your case any... He actually still remembers pulling his gun on you. He still mentions it at times, usually cursing out the bane of your existence."

Edward snorted out a bit of a laugh. "It was quite memorable, wasn't it? He didn't even give me enough time to pull my pants up before he hauled me out of the car and put me in handcuffs."

"Yeah, well that night was the first time he mistook me for Renee. I knew there was a problem, I mean a REAL problem, when he started calling me by my mothers name."

"Bella… that's.. that's…" Edward moved to sit up, wanting to see her face when he spoke to her. Bella, of course, wouldn't have that. "No." Quietly, with that one word, she pressed his head back down into his makeshift pillow. "Don't speak. Let me get this out. I've actually never spoken to anyone about this before."

Edward nodded quietly and Bella draw a shaky breath before she continued.

"Not only did he call me by my mothers name, but he told me that he had had it with my flirting and my antics and that if he was ever put in that position again he'd pull the trigger. Then he broke down and cried and pleaded with me.. or, well with Renee…. not to leave him."

A curse word escaped harshly from Edwards lips. And then another. He couldn't help himself. This was some messed up shit.

As if she had read her thoughts, Bella hurried on. "It was just a brief thing, a momentary lapse of reality… The next morning he acted like it never happened, the breaking down part, I mean, not the catching us in the act part. Charlie was livid about that particular detail for weeks."

She paused and let out a shaky laugh before she continued.

"He took away my phone and my car keys, he even went as far as to locking me up inside my bedroom at nighttime. I was just glad he was back to his normal self again; calling me by my name and treating me like you normally treat a disobeying teenager…" she trailed off, seemingly lost in thought.

Ever so slowly, Edward made an attempt to flex his back and turn himself sideways. He felt that he needed to see her, needed to see the look on her face, if this conversation was going to continue.

Bella of course took notice this sudden attempt to get up, but read it inaccurately. "Oh my God, Edward! I'm sorry. Your chest! It must be hurting like hell. I shouldn't have pushed you down like that. I totally forgot about it. I'm sorry. You should sit up. Let me help you sit up."

"Don't you dare apologize to me, Bella." Rolling over Edward scooted himself to sit with his back against the tub. "If anyone should be apologizing it should be me. Christ, I had no idea what you had to go through because of me and my lack of self-restraint…"

"Yes, because I was such an unwilling participant," she snorted in a sarcastic manner. "Not everything revolves around you, Edward. I take full responsibility for my actions. I made a mess and my father had every reason to be disappointed in me."

"Disappointed, yes, but locking someone up like that is just plain wrong."

"Charlie only did what he thought was best for me," Bella protested with indignation evident in her voice. "Once he calmed down he realized he was being unreasonable and he never really mea-"

"Fine, your dad is a saint. I'm sorry for even suggesting he did anything wrong," Edward cut in with a frustrated sigh, running his hand through his hair. "Bella, it's been, what, eight years? Maybe we should let the past stay in the past?"

"You're the one that brought it up," she protested. "You're the one that wanted to know what happened to my father. I thought we could talk about this like two adults but apparently I was wrong. Turns out you are just as difficult now as you were then. This conversation is over as far as I'm concerned."

Bella scrambled to get to her feet, using the bathtub for leverage. In her haste to leave she miscalculated the distance to the door and accidentally ended up banging her elbow against the porcelain edge of the sink.

She only lost her focus for a split second, but that was enough time for Edward to get a hold of her arm. His grip was too firm and her balance to fragile. She landed with unladylike grace in his lap and before she could do anything about it, he had her trapped with an arm locked around her waist.

"You really shouldn't have done that!" she glared at him.

"Really? What are you going to do about it?"

"Oh, I don't know, " she said, pretending to give the matter deep thought. "I might have to hurt you," she added and pointedly put a hand on his heavily bandaged chest giving it a very gentle, but firm squeeze.

Edward let out something between a bark and a yelp. "Hey now, that was a cheap shot!" he hissed as he fought to regain his composure.

"I'm sorry, did that hurt? Perhaps you should let me go now before I add more injury to the assault."

"You are many things but you're not cruel, I'll take my chances," he grumbled, taking a firmer hold on her waist "Look, I'm sorry for what I said. I did not mean to be insensitive about your father and I do appreciate finally getting some insight to what happened that summer, honestly I do."

As he spoke he brought a hand up to push a stray piece of black hair out of her face. "I just don't know what do with this new piece of information."

She flinched away from his hand, but Edward persisted until his warm fingers brushed against her smooth cheeks. "I cant rewrite history, it's much too late for that now."

"Much too late," Bella agreed in a breathless voice, fighting the shudder creeping over her frame from the light innocent touch. "We should leave it in the past."

"So, what do we do about the present?" he asked turning his head so that he was practically whispering in her ear.

"Easy there Romeo," Bella shook her head, ignoring the goosebumps rising on her skin. "We've been over this before. We keep our cool and stick to the game plan, that's what we do. We have a stalker to catch."

This time when he tried to stop her from breaking out of his grip she didn't hesitate to jab two fingers into the pressure points of his neck. The response was immediate and quite comical. His eyes went wide, almost bulging out of their sockets and then his entire body froze in a momentary sensory paralysis.

Knowing the effect would only last a moment or two, Bella used the short respite to get to her feet.

"Don't say I didn't warn you," she muttered under her breath and then fled the bathroom before her conscience could catch up with her.


	18. 118 Flaring tempers and crossed wires

AN: Sorry about not updating sooner,but I've been sick. First an ear infection,followed by a nasty stomach bug...

**Chapter 18 - #118- Flaring tempers and crossed wires**

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_#118_

_O, beware, my lord, of jealousy!_

_It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock_

_The meat it feeds on.*_

_*William Shakespeare, Othello_

_This time the envelope and note # 118 was found in the glove box of Edwards car._

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Bella wasn't surprised to find a text message from Edward on her cell phone the following morning. It read 'You owe me icepacks and painkillers…and an apology would be nice too. Breakfast my room, eight sharp, don't be late.'

The written note on the floor by the door did not come as much of a surprise either.

'The longer you stick around the more I'll have to hurt him. Get lost bitch, he's mine!' was scribbled in a rough, but neat handwriting.

It was about as predictable as it was short. The red, blood like substance smeared all over the front door to her apartment, however, was a new touch …

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"Someone is working hard at getting their message across," was Seth Clearwater's comment upon seeing the mess on the door.

"Looks that way," Bella agreed. "I don't think it's real blood, but I want you to take a sample to the lab before you clean it up. Dust for prints and see if you can find anything. Oh, and have Paul check the video footage."

"Will do. We have no camera covering this particular angle but the one by the stairs should be sufficient enough. Did you notice anything unusual at all this morning?"

Bella bit her lower lip and shook her head. "Nope, I didn't fall asleep until two a clock in the morning, but after that I slept like baby."

"Good to hear that at least someone is getting some sleep around here. Our friends upstairs had another one of those slumber parties."

"Have they been up all night?"

"Pretty much. Cullen is in a lot of pain from what I have gathered. He has been up and walking every other hour or so."

"Is he still in his room?"

"Yes, he's the only one still in the apartment. The rest of them have left for work. Yorkie is keeping an eye on the stairs."

"Alright, I'm going to go talk to him. Can you make sure we get some privacy. We have some paperwork we need to go through," Bella said waving with the thick manila folder she had in her hand.

"Yeah sure, I'll be out here for another hour or so before I head back to the office."

"You'll let me know when you're getting ready to leave, right?"

"Sure thing."

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Bella was a little nervous about facing Edward after having left him in a crumpled heap on the bathroom floor the night before. To say she owned him an apology was to put it mildly. Her behavior had been highly unprofessional. Even though the technique she had used to render him immobile was considered relatively painless, she just knew there would be consequences for her actions. If there was one thing she had learned about Edward, it was that he could hold a grudge like nobodies business.

The apartment was dark and silent as she used her spare key to let herself in. Turning on the hall light, she called out his name, but was met with silence. From the hallway she went straight into the kitchen, but found nothing… no breakfast… no Edward…

"Cullen, I'm here to grovel at your feet. You better come out of hiding or you'll miss it!" she tried again. Still no response. Why wasn't he answering? A chill went up and down her spine as all kinds of possibilities ran through her mind.

There could be a perfectly natural explanation. He could be asleep. He could be in the shower. Perhaps he had sneaked out for a smoke, it wouldn't be the first time he managed to get passed Yorkie and Clearwater. Or he could have gotten himself into some serious trouble. After all, they did find blood in the building that very morning.

Gun in hand she checked the living room, all three bathrooms and a few other rooms she passed on her way, but found nothing. There was only one place left to search, the home office that now served as a spare bedroom. Could he really be sound asleep in there, he who never slept more than half an hour at a time?

She knocked on the door announcing her presence just to be on the safe side before she turned the door knob and tiptoed inside. Why she felt like tiptoeing she had no idea. The room appeared to be empty at first glance, but she wasn't sure what to make of the futon-looking-bed. There was definitely a lump of something on it, possibly a human body.

She was about to pull the covers off it when a sound from behind startled her. She spun around only to come face to face with none other than a very rough looking Edward Cullen.

"What do you think you're doing?" he asked abruptly, not bothering with greetings.

"Jesus, loaded gun over here. Its not wise to sneak up on someone… " the rest of the sentence died on her lips when she took in his appearance.

His hair was pointing in all directions, his chin was dark with stubble and his eyes… his eyes were huge, and dilated and dark. Sleep deprived and strung out on painkillers, no doubt.

'This ought be fun…. NOT,' she groaned inwardly as she tucked her gun away. "Sorry for barging in here like that, but you did invite me over and I did knock."

"Sorry for barging in here," Edward mimicked mockingly in a high pitched voice. "Sorry for barging in. Is that all you have to say, Swan?"

"I could throw in a 'good morning', but that seems like a bit of an oxymoron for you."

Edward clearly did not find that amusing in the least. "You'll have to do better than that," he stated with a sneer. "I specifically heard you say you were here to grovel. So get on with it already. I ain't got all day."

"You're going to milk this for all it's worth, aren't you?," Bella sighed.

His only response was a shrug, but his crossed arms and grimly set jaw were answer enough.

"I'm still waiting," he reminded her, taking a pointed step in her direction.

"Alright," she sighed in defeat. "Why don't we go sit down in the kitchen. This may take a while and besides you look like you could use some coffee."

For a moment, it looked like he was going to object, but then he simply nodded and gestured for Bella to lead the way. "I did promise you breakfast, didn't I? And unlike some people, I always keep my promises."

Bella refrained from rolling her eyes at him and _held__back the snarky_ reply that she had instinctively lined up.

She knew better than to agitate him further. She even accepted his hand on the small of her back as she walked passed him.

Big mistake! She should have known better than to lower her guard. While his right hand rested on the small of her back, his left one gripped into the side of her hip steering her, in a not so gentle manner, towards the door. No scratch that, steering her towards the nearest vertical surface. Her reflexes were fast, but not fast enough. Not this time. Before she had a chance to react, Edward had pressed her up against the doorframe and claimed her lips in a brutal kiss.

Clearly she had underestimated his need to revenge his injured male pride. He knew exactly what spots to stab her at. He knew how to get to her and how to provoke her. He hadn't lost his touch. He knew all too well where to lick and tease to make her melt.

Her body wanted nothing more than to embrace him tightly, but her mind kept screaming at her to deck him… properly this time. She could have, it would have been easy; a knee to the groin or a side kick to his knee. She did neither of those things… Instead she willed herself to remain impassive, using all her will-power not to cling to him as his tongue probed the depths of her mouth in raw open-mouthed kiss.

Wait, an open-mouthed kiss? When did that happen? Damnit!

She clamped down her teeth on his tongue. Not hard enough to draw blood, but hard enough to make him to pull back.

She had to clutch the doorknob to steady her wobbly legs.

"By the Gods, Edward! Was that really necessary?" she exclaimed, angrily.

"What?" he asked, feigning innocence "I thought you came here with the intent to kiss and make up. Did I misread the situation?"

"I'm only here because I felt I owed you an apology, but you know what, screw that. Touch me again, again and you'll have some broken bones to add to that burned chest of yours.

"I don't think you really mean that." Daringly he trailed his fingertips down the side of her cheek as he spoke. "Besides, I'm a sucker for pain, haven't you heard?"

"Oh, is that so?" Snatching his hand away, Bella grabbed a hold on his wrist and twisted it into an unnatural angle. "Is that why you have been popping painkillers like M&M's the last twelve hours?"

His eyes widened, but he stood his ground, meeting her gaze, not even flinching for a second.

She stared him down, waiting, one eyebrow quirked in a challenge. She increased the amount of pressure on his arm until he finally, after what seemed like an eternity, looked away and raised his other hand in defeat.

"Okay, you win. I've had enough, but only because an arm cast would severely cramp my style, not to mention mess with my work schedule."

"Do we have an agreement then?" she asked stern voice, not releasing her grip until Edward nodded in resignation. "We stay professional from here on out. No touching, no kissing, no nothing," she clarified.

"If that's what you really want," he replied, _flexing his wrist_ cautiously a couple of times, making sure it was uninjured.

"Yes, that's what I really want. Anything else would be unethical and difficult to explain to my superiors."

"Okay. I'll respect your wishes…. but only if you tell me this one thing."

"Cullen, you're in no position to-…"

"Let me finish. I'll drop this whole thing and keep my distance if you answer one question," he paused to make eye contact. "Why Jacob? What did he have that I didn't?"

"Seriously? That's what you want to know?"

"I've thought about this all night and I still do not get why you would pick him of all people to confide in?"

"Well, for starters, he was there when you weren't. He was loyal when you weren't. Don't think I don't know all bout that skank you went out with mere days after…" she hesitated, uncomfortably searching for the right word. "..after our final tryst."

"Vera? You've got to be kidding me, Rosalie's minion, Vera? You're still mad about that? I thought I explained this years ago. It wasn't a 'date' date. It was her senior prom and her stupid college boyfriend stood her up because of some rock concert or something. "

"So you stepped in to fill his shoes. How very noble of you. I bet she thanked you for it in her own skanky way."

"I didn't do it for her, I did it as a favor to my brother. If Vera didn't go to the f*ing prom neither would Rosalie." Edward said, racking his hand through his disheveled hair. "I didn't touch her, I swear."

"That's not what I heard, but whatever… It has no relevance to the point I'm trying to make. What I'm trying to say is that you weren't around when I needed you that summer. You weren't around when they cut off our electricity because no one had paid the bills or even opened mail for nearly three months. You weren't around when the fire department had to evacuate the entire neighborhood because Charlie nearly burned down the house trying to make pancakes at two o'clock in the morning. You weren't there when I needed you. You weren't there, because all this happened while you where off galloping around Europe."

It was a lot to take in at once, but it was that last sentence that really got to him. "Galloping? You think Austria was my idea? You think going away was my idea? I had no say in the matter, none at all. If your punishment was house arrest mine was music boot camp."

"Fine, I still think you could have found a way to tell me you were leaving instead of just disappearing like that, though."

"Like you told me about your father and everything that was going on with that, you mean? You weren't exactly innocent in all the drama that went down either..."

"I never said I was," she protested, indignation flashing across her eyes. "But at least I tried to make things right again. I did try to talk to you that first day you were back, but thanks to Riley Biers, the freaking leech, you had already heard all sorts of rumors about Jake and me and wasn't really receptive to anything I had to say."

"Can you blame me. You knew how I felt about that douche, yet you continued to spend time with him just to spite me."

"That douche was my friend and one of very few people Charlie allowed to set foot inside our house."

She raised her hand in a sharp gesture when Edward opened his mouth to protest. "Jacob sold his beloved car lend me money so that I could catch up on the bills that Charlie had neglected to pay. There was no way Renee would have let me stay in Forks if she had known there were unpaid bills and no electricity."

"Great, another proof that the sunliterall_y_ rose and set right on top of Jacob Black's head."

"At the time it felt like he was my only ally when everyone else was against me. You have no idea what I had to go through to convince my parents to let me stay in Forks one more year. Jake was offering his help, I knew I could trust him. I thought me going out on a few dates with him was a small price to pay in the grand scheme of things."

"Did I hear this right? He offered you money so you dated him?"

"Don't be rude! It was nothing like that. Yes, I did date him while you were away, mostly because he was good company and because it was a convenient way to get out of the house and away from Charlie's watchful eyes for a few hours. And When I say 'dated' I use the term in the loosest way. He was nice to me. We went to the movies a few times that's about it."

"Aww, he was nice to you, how very nice of him," he rolled his eyes, the sarcasm thick in his voice. "And you only went to the movies, I guess that makes it alright then."

"What did you expect? That I would sit around at home rolling my thumbs all summer? You where gone for weeks without making any attempts to keep in touch and then when you finally returned, you took Riley's words over mine."

"Firstly," Edward said, holding up one finger. "I DID try to contact you before I left, but you wouldn't answer your phone or come to the door when I came by your house."

"Charlie…."

"I know, you were looked up in your room, courtesy of chief Swan. I wasn't finished." He motioned for her to quiet down saying, "Secondly, it wasn't just Riley who was saying stuff. You and biker boy were the talk of the town. Not to speak ill of the dead or anything, but Jake never did anything just to be nice. He told everyone who would listen about his escapades with the police chiefs daughter."_ Edward didn't _bother to hide the irritation in his voice. "He spoke about you like you were a piece of meat."

"I'm sure that's what it sounded like to you. He was obviously trying to get a rise and you took the bait as always."

"I caught him making out with some blond bitch behind the bleachers of the football field."

Sighing, Bella crossed her arms over her chest. "I know that."

"You knew, yet you still picked him over me."

"Gee Cullen, I wonder why? Your temper scared the hell out of me that day. I saw you beat him senseless. It wasn't just a few punches, you were pounding on him over and over again. I saw the look in your eyes, it was almost like you were enjoying it."

He answered without hesitation. "I did get a certain degree of satisfaction out of it, I'm not denying that. And I'm not going to apologise for it either."

"Fine, you don't have to. It doesn't change anything. We're not in high school anymore! I'm here to do a job, not reconnect with an old boyfriend."

"But if you weren't working you'd be all for it, is that what your saying?"

"Don't put words in my mouth," she said warningly.

"My bad," he said with raised hands. "But you can't tell me you don't feel the attraction between us. It's still there, if anything, stronger than ever."

"Here we go again. You can't possibly know what I feel or don't feel!"

"Can't I? Oh, I don't know, I thought the way you trembled in my arms when I kissed you pretty much said it all."

"Ugh… You promised you'd drop it. I can't get involved with you even if I wanted to. There is too much at stake. I could lose my job and you or someone in your surrounding could end up getting hurt or worse. I just can't afford to loose focus right now."

Edward took a step back and gestured to the door. "Okay fine…. Here I thought we were finally making progress, finally getting everything out in the open, but I guess I was wrong."

"Edward-"

"Go on, go do your job. Keep my family safe, that IS more important than anything else, I agree..."

Bella stared at him silently for a minute then she nodded and left the room.


	19. 119 In the wake of a breakthrough

AN: Hello my lovelies and fellow fic readers. I have another chapter for you to read and hopefully enjoy.

Someone (ssssa) pointed out a small glitch in the storyline. In an early chapter I mentioned that Bella was sent away over the summer to stay with Renee. In the last chapter though there was no mention of that.

The answer is simple. Bella did go to see her mother, but she wasn't away from Forks for the entire summer because then she wouldn't have had time to date Jake ;)

I have had to tweak my original idea for this fic a bit to make it work. I rewrote the last chapter several times before posting it. In the version I ended up sticking with (but obviously didn't explain very well, sorry) Charlie caught Bella and Edward in the act, had a little bit of a mental breakdown where he put his daughter in 'house arrest' and kept her home from school for the remaining 1-3 weeks of the semester. During this time E does try to call and stop by the house, but Chief Swan makes sure to keep the two teenagers separated.

Jake picks up and drops off the schoolwork/assignments that is left to complete. He is the only one of Bella's friends still allowed inside the house… It's through him Bella finds out about Edward going to the senior prom with Vera.

Once summer break starts Bella is sent off to visit Renee. She was suppose to go there anyway, but instead of two weeks she is there for the double amount of time. When Bella gets back to Forks Edward is nowhere to be found. She also comes back to a house with no electricity… Jake sweaps in to save the day... and there you have it...

Which brings me to another question I've recieved (from HeathersTwilight)… Did bella merry Jake for real or as a favor/repayment of a debt? They got married years later, so it was the real deal. Bella loved him, but was never in love with him. Her heart wasn't in it, but she thought could make it work anyway.

Now on to the story...

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**Chapter 19 - ****#119 – In the wake of a breakthrough**

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**#119**

_No relationship is too sacred_

_and no creature is too innocent to be spared. _

_All beauty must die, _

_all bloody and wild._

**Note #119** was scribbled on the first page of the notebook in witch Edward kept his unfinished compositions. The notebook was found tucked underneath the sleeping form of baby Elliott. Thankfully both the child and the notebook was unscathed, save for a few pages of sheet music that had been torn out. The missing pages were later found half burned in a garbage bin.

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Junior field agent Seth Clearwater was sitting alone in an unmarked car parked in a dark corner of an otherwise deserted street. Bella knocked on the window and watched him turn around in the driver's seat with a startledlook on his face.

"Stakeout takeout," she greeted him in a low voice as she slid into the car. "Don't look so surprised I told you I'd bring you food, didn't I?"

"It's two o'clock in the morning. I didn't think you were serious," Seth said and swooped the paper bag out of her arms. "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse and chase the rider."

"Sorry, you'll have to settle for a big fat trusty burger."

"You're my favorite person right now. Great initiative Swan! "

"You're welcome. I needed a break from the madhouse for a while…Besides I'm curious to see what my Italian neighbor has been up to," Bella explained, while grabbing Seth's camera out of the bag situated on top of the handbrake.

"He's is in the bar, forth window to the right…" Seth pointed with a fry dangling between his fingers like a deep-fried cigarette."Hey, wait if you're here then who's back at the house supervising Cullen and his slumber party?"

"Jenks has added two more agents into the rotation, so they should be fine without me for an hour or two."

"Alright, but if you came her for entertainment I'll have to disappoint you."

"Still nothing suspect from our suspect, huh?," Bella commented with a frown. "Alec really is a dead ringer for his uncle Aro, though, isn't he. All the Volturis share the same bone and facial characteristics."

"Yet you still claim the Cullen's are genuinely unaware of his true identity? I find that hard to believe. Don't they run security checks on their tenants before they let them move in?"

"They know him as Sandro Scocco, a 19 year-old Brooklyn-native college student. There is no way Carlisle would let any members of the Volturis anywhere near his family, there is too much bad blood there."

"Right, some malpractice coverup twenty something years ago... I've read about that in the file."

"In that case you're probably aware that it was quite the scandal back in the day."

"Yes, but do we really think the Cullen stalker is somehow connected with the Volturi's?"

"The chief seems to think so. It's certainly a possibility that we need to look into, but personally I think this whole stalker approach is a bit too juvenile for someone like Aro Volturi."

"I agree. I've been watching this kid for five days now. He's clean, or as clean as someone supplying half the neighborhood with dope can be."

"His drug dealing side-business might actually be his best alibi. He doesn't have time to stalk anyone. His sister on the other hand… I know she has not been seen anywhere near the building and the Cullens, but Jane Volturi or Janet Scocco, as she calls herself these days, is a perfect fit as far as the profile is concerned."

"Right, if you're interested in Jane, you sure you picked the right night to join me. The girl in question is in fact the one waiting the tables tonight ," Seth nodded his head in the direction of the bar across the street. "She's the blond, short one with the green shirt."

"Really? You mean she actually works here?," Bella questioned, raising the camera once more. "This is news to me."

"Yep, I was just as surprised as you are when I first recognized her. It appears to be a very sporadic arrangement, though. From what I've gathered, she only ever works here during baseball season."

"Oookay… and Edward only frequents this bar because this is where Emmett likes to watch the Mets' games. Coincidence much? I don't think so…"

Seth grinned at that. "It certainly sounds like Jane only works on nights she knows both the Cullen brothers are likely to make an appearance," he suggested with a quirk of his eyebrows. " On second thought, though, it could very well be the other way around. Think about it. Maybe Cullen is the one timing his appearances to coincide with the Mets games because he knows that's the only nights our sweet Jane here is likely to be tending the bar."

"Right, he seems to have a thing for blondes these days, so it wouldn't surprise me." It was meant as a quip, but Bella couldn't quite hide the bitterness in her voice.

Seth's grin only grew wider. "You still haven't gotten around to question Cullen about his black book of conquests, have you?"

"I've tried, but it's a sensitive subject. I've only gotten two names out of him so far; Kate Denali, a 25 year old, bottle blond marine biologist currently stationed in Alaska and … surprise, surprise… Tanya Denali, Kate's equally blond younger sister."

Seth let out a low whistle. "Tanya, the ditsy blond from second floor?"

"That would be the one. According to Alice there has also been a Chelsea, an Amber and a Charlotte passing through the door to his bedroom."

"… and probably a few others that his sister never had the pleasure of meeting."

"Yes, probably… . Alice says he was quite wild during his first two years in college, but that he calmed down considerable after his disastrous stint in the modeling business."

"I'm sure that put a damper on things. What about before he came to New York? Before college? I bet he was quite the Casanova in high school. The rich popular kid with the fancy house and the flashy car."

"He drove a Volvo. I wouldn't exactly call that flashy, but sure, him and Emmett had quite the reputation back in the days. His brother was the homecoming king, the jock, the larger-than-life athlete, so cool even the freaks liked him. Edward was more of a rebel and a badass, with more traffic violations than the rest of Forks high schoolers put together. The only thing he ever really cared about was his music and his stupid car."

"I keep forgetting you went to school with these kids," Seth groaned, slapping a hand to his forehead. "Wait, you dated him, didn't you? You're one of Cullen's high school conquests. That's why the two of you dance around each other like two dogs in heat."

"We do no such thing!" Bella protested, rolling her eyes at him. "We dated for like half a second when I was seventeen, but that's ancient history."

"Aha, I knew it!," he laughed. "I bet he was your prom date. I bet the two of you did all sorts of kinky things in the backseat of that Volvo."

"I hate to disappoint you, but Jake was my prom date, you remember Jake right, my late husband. He drove a red Volkswagen Rabbit the size of a shoebox. I can assure you nothing much ever happened in that backseat of that car"

"That's just sad. Your high school experience is not complete unless you ge-…Ouch!."

"Watch your tongue!," Bella laughed giving him a not so gentle dig in the ribs.

Just then, her phone rang, and she answered it still laughing. The smile on her face faded almost immediately when she heard what the caller had to say.

"What? When was this?"

"… …. …"

"Are you sure, Yorkie? Did you actually see her prep it?"

"…."

"I'm not sure that will hold in court, but it's good enough for me."

"…. … "

"No, don't do anything. Get the cup and samples of beverage to the lab. I'll be there in ten minutes."

Seth had already turned the ignition and started the car before Bella had finished the call. He didn't need her to tell him what was going on. He knew the importance of the phone call. He knew which one of the tenants in the building Eric Yorkie had been assigned to shadow. He knew from agent Swan's body language alone that this was the breakthrough they had been waiting for.

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The days that followed were devoted to secret preparations for an arrest. Secret, because even tough they had enough evidence to move forward, they still held back in hope of catching the stalker red handed.

Meanwhile, the atmosphere in the McCarty/Cullen building remained tense. Edward barely spoke to Bella unless it was absolutely necessary. He made a point out of avoiding her, which was understandable given the circumstances. Understandable but quite annoying.

It had been a tough few days. Bella sighed and stared into her empty glass, wondering if she could call Seth and talk him into covering for her so she could take the rest of the night off. She was tired and her head was pounding worse than the music from the nearby dance floor. Leaving early, though, meant she might miss out on the action in the event this was the night the stalker made her next move.

It was Thursday and the boys had just finished yet another performance at the club. These days they rarely ever stayed longer than half an hour or so afterwards before leaving the bar and returning to the safety of their home base. This Thursday was different though, different because Edward appeared to be mad determined to get himself shit-faced drunk.

Bella wasn't too sure about the details, but apparently one of his compositions had been picked up to be used during the opening credits of some highly popular TV-show and now he was celebrating by slugging down Rum and RC Cola cocktails like there was no tomorrow. The combination of alcohol and post gig adrenaline was making him hyper in a bouncingly talkative sort of way.

At the moment he was off somewhere chatting up a storm with anyone who would listen. If Bella strained her neck she could see a mop of bronze colored hair in the middle of a cluster of people. Jasper was there too, trying to keep his friend out of trouble.

No wait a minute, Jasper was over by the bar, getting another drink for himself - no, getting Edward another drink. Damn.

"Didn't we say we were gonna cut him off after the last one?"

Alice leaned forward across the table, looking where Bella was pointing. "Yeah, but I think we forgot to tell Jasper."

"I think our problem just got worse. Look, he's heading for the dance floor again…"

Alice nudged Bella's shoulder. "I think this is your cue."

"My what? "

"Your cue to step in. Come on, go dance with the boy before he makes a fool of himself and starts dancing on the tables."

"I never dance sober," Bella whined. "He's your brother, you go. He'll respond better to you anyway."

"That's not what I think. I think he'd much rather dance with you." Alice said leaning in closer. "I can tell the two of you still have this,'thing', this…. well, you know what I mean… It's apparent whenever you're in the same room."

Bella blinked slowly. "What thing?"

Alice smiled. "…a spark"

"Alice," Bella shook her head. "No."

"Yes," Alice said stubbornly. "Listen, you can't tell me that you don't think about him that way anymore. I'm not buying that."

"Um," Bella said, trying to find the right words. "I… That's between him and m-…"

"I knew it!" Alice cut her off. "Come on, one dance wont kill anybody."

Bella sighed and leaned back in her seat for a moment. "Okay fine, but you owe me," she said.

Alice just laughed. "Oh, lord, here comes the Robot dance. Get out there. Grab him before someone else does."

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Outwardly, she was picture of perfect calm detachment as she wove her way through the bodies crowding the dance floor, but on the inside her nerves were racing. Dancing was just something she had never been any good at. Too many people in one spot, too many limbs to keep track of all at once.

Edward jumped and spun around as Bella tried to slid in unnoticed behind him. She got the satisfaction of seeing him twitch with surprise as he recognized her, but he recovered quickly.

"B, you're not dancing," he half-mouthed, half-screamed and did something with his arms over his head that made Bella think of a bizarre backwards version of the 90's Macarena. She couldn't help but laugh at his drunken antics. She copied the move, and then they were dancing. Moving to the music, they goofed around like a couple of carefree teenagers.

The next few songs passed in a blur until the music slowed down, and the floor got so crowded they were pushed even closer together. Bella hung her arms, loosely, around his neck and swayed from side-to-side with her hips. Edward's hands were roaming her back, as he swayed along to the music with her.

Suddenly Bella realized that her pounding headache had been replaced by a much more pleasant kind of ache.

Alice had called it 'a spark' and Edward had referred to it as attraction, but Bella had no illusions, she knew what it was, it was raw and pure NEED and it stemmed from years and years of repressed desires and sexual frustration.

Thank God that the end was near, thank God that they were (hopefully) mere days away from an arrest because Bella was smart enough to realize that she was not strong enough to resist much longer.

When had she turned from a rational intelligent thinking person into this bundle of primal urges and fierce wants?

She needed to keep it together. She had a job to do, and she would see it through till the end. She couldn't afford to slip up, not now, not with him. Something like that would be a sure recipe for disaster. Bella knew all this, yet when Edward fired off one of his most charming smiles, leaned into her and whispered 'Let's get out of here' all she could do was nod and hold on tightly as he took her hand and started searing them away from the crowded dance floor.

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AN2: So how was that for a cliff hanger? This chapter was sort of "two for the price of one" - the stalker finally slip up and so does Special agent Swan.


	20. 120 Bluring the lines

**Chapter 20 - Blurring the lines**

**Note #120** never reach its intended recipient. It was a stuffed bear with a Get Well Soon message on its tee shirt and a pamphlet with a list of common potentially poisonous household and garden products. No, the bear and the note never reached its intended recipient and more importantly the toxic substance, the beverage prepped with strychnine, was never ingested by its intended recipient.

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During the short cab ride back to the Cullen/McCarthy buildingEdward never let go of her hand. It was as if he suspected she'd slip away if he didn't hold on to her tight enough. And to be honest the thought did cross her mind. They hadn't spoken a word to each other since they left the club and that had given her too much time to think, too much time to doubt, too much time to reconsider.

The silence between them wasn't broken until they stepped out of the car and into the cool damp night air and found themselves alone together for the first time in almost a week.

"Hey you," Edward whispered and tugged at her hand until she stumbled closer to him. "Will you deck me if I try to kiss you."

His words came out in somewhat of a drunken slur, but at least he had the presence of mind to keep his voice down. Even though the darkness provided a sense of privacy, Bella was fairly certain that they were being watched by multiple sets of eyes. Walking into the building hand in hand was one thing, being caught smooching on the other hand would certainly raise a feweye brows and ruffle quite a few feathers… to put it mildly…

Edward, of course, failed to notice Bella's hesitation, or maybe he did notice, but purposefully decided to ignore it and press forward anyway.

His arm slipped around her waist and he pulled her flush against his chest. His head lowered towards hers, eyes dipped to her mouth in a way that distracted her no end.

"Don't,"she protested in a voice that sounded weak even to her. "Look, this is not safe…anyone could see us, " she tried again, with a little more conviction this time. "Maybe this wasn't the best of ideas."

"No, no, no.. You can't back out now. You just can't…" After pausing — no doubt for effect — Edward went for the kill, "You can't and you wont. You haven't had a good fuck in ages, Isabella. I know what you need and I'll give it to you if you let me "

Heat instantly spread throughout her body, tightening her nipples and pooling moisture into her panties. Because fuck if it wasn't true. She really couldn't remember the last time she had had her urges thoroughly satisfied. And she could tell his promise was a very earnest one.

Bella suppressed a groan. Not only was he right, but judging by the smirk on his face he knew he was right.

She started to push herself out of his arms, instantly missing the heat and the contact she had now deprived herself of. She got as far as untangling their joined hands, then decided 'to hell with it'.Her body ached for him and she was not going to deny herself from what she really wantedany longer.

To hell with it!

The same though must have struck Edward at the same time. Bella wasn't sure who moved first, but half a second later their mouths were fused together in a hungry, almost angry kiss.

Her hands were in his hair, stroking down his neck, digging into his shoulders. Her tongue met his, tangling, teasing. When his hands slid down to cup her ass, pulling her against his arousal, she moaned. That sound seemed to seal their faith.

There would be hell to pay in the morning… or rather there would be colleagues to pay off and video footage to delete in the morning, but in that moment she didn't care for anything but the man standing before her.

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She took him to her place, or well the apartment rented under the name Arizona Bell Hawkins. Partly because it was the closest one, fewer stairs to climb, fewer cameras to pass, but mostly because it was the safest option.

After having led him to her bedroom, she had him wait on her bed while she removed her weapon from the belt holster at the small of her back, unloaded it, and placed it in the top drawer of her bedside table.

She stepped out of her shoes, and walked, wobbly-kneed across the room. The gorgeous, sexy man on her bed looked almost luminescent in the pale lighting of the street lights filtering through the windows.

His gaze followed her every movement, making her feel exposed and vulnerable like never before. It was ridicules how easily he could get to her just by looking at her a certain way. The power he held over her was frightening.

In order to give herself some time to collect her thoughts, she dug out her cell from her pocket and sent a quick text to Seth, informing him that she was about to host a private, one guest only, slumber party. She barely got the messages sent before there was a reply: 'I've got your back, you naughty, naughty girl.' Her colleague must have started typing that up the moment he saw them enter the building.

Meanwhile Edward was growing restless on the bed. Having heard the buzz indicating an incoming text message he sat straight up on the bed, cursing under his breath. "Damn it to hell! Not another one. Turn that fucking phone off I don't want that crazy psycho stalker bitch ruin this."

"She won't," Bella shook her head. "That was just Seth. I had to let him know our whereabouts and he responded by giving us his blessing."

"You told him?," Edward asked, surprise evident in both his face and voice. "I thought you didn't want anyone to know. I thought…" he trailed off frowning in obvious confusion. "Wait he saw us get in didn't he?"

"We have fourteen cameras in this building, there is no doubt in my mind he knows exactly where we are and what we're up to."

"Oh, I didn't think of that…" he muttered, racking his hand through his hair. "There is no surveillance in here, though, right?"

"Nope, we don't need an audience for this."

"Amen to that!" He stretched out an open hand, beckoning for her to come join him on the bed. "Now get over here so I can feel up that glorious body of yours "

"Last time we tried this - you and me in a bed together, I ended up on the floor," Bella reminded him as she slowly made her way across the room.

"Oh, I can't promise you that won't happen again, but if it does, you have my permission to smack me around until I wake up. I don't want anything to spoil this."

"Oooh, I get to smack you around, how romantic."

He shrugged. "I'm a romantic guy," he agreed mock solemnly, before he pulled her down to straddle his lap and started fumbling with the buttons holding her top together.

"Hands a bit shaky there Romeo."

"Heh, drinking can do that to a fella."

"Here let me help you," she offered and quickly unbuttoned the flimsy material, casting it to the floor.

"Much better," he nodded approvingly and pushed the bra straps out of the way. First one side, then the other, causing her amble bust to spill over the top of the cups.

"Even more beautiful than I remember." He stroked the creamy white skin exposed above the constraining material. "Fuller…," he breathed in amazement as his fingers tips traced the contours of the flesh. "Definitely fuller…and softer."

He nuzzled his face into her breasts, his mouth ghosting over every inch of skin he couldreach. Bella shuddered at the contact, shuddered at the sensation of gentle scrape of teeth against her flesh. She wanted - no needed- more. His lips ... oh, God, how she craved them on her skin, kissing every inch of her body.

Her hands were grasping blindly at his clothes trying to reach his skin. The need to feel his skin under her fingers so strong it was almost suffocating.

She managed to get the buttons of his shirt open, but lost her focus when Edward sucked one of her pebble hard nipples into his mouth. Oh damn, that tongue. It flicked and swirled over and around her taut areola until she thought she'dburst into flames. Then he bit it. She yelped and grabbed on to his now half naked chest. That's when reality came crashing back on her in all its horrific details.

Scar tissue. The texture beneath her palms was rough and uneven. A better part of his chest was still red and irritated in a blotchy raw sort of way.

"Oh-my-God! I can't believe I forgot!" She gasped the words out through ragged breaths as she pulled away to get a better look at his injuries. "I'm not hurting you, am I? Should I even be touching it?"

"It's mostly healed. As long as you don't scratch it, I'll be fine," he answered equally breathless. "No nails and no teeth, okay?"

"Are you sure?", she asked, frowning slightly. "It still looks painfully raw."

"If it hurts, I expect you to kiss and make it better."

"Like this?," she asked carefully placing light kisses along hiscollarbone down to the swells of his pectorals.

"mm," he moaned, shuddering slightly. "Yeah, that'll work."

She continued kissing and touching every inch of him she could get her hands on. Clothes were becoming a nuisance, so she shred them… Literally shred them….

She usually wasn't the aggressive type, but this had built up over quite some time. Her hands were everywhere and so was his, tearing seams and popping buttons. Soon they were rolling around naked on the bed with their bodies pressed close in a tangled embrace of arms and legs.

"Oh Sweet Jesus," Bella groaned, as a muscular thigh rubbed intimately against the damp mound of her sex. She humped it shamelessly, not able to remember the last time she had felt this alive. Every nerve, every cell in her body seemed to burn with pleasure at his touch.

She was wet and excited beyond all measure and Edward was equally aroused. She could feel it. She could feel his breathing, hard and labored, against her neck. She could feel the heat and the hardness of his erection probing against her stomach. The realization was mind blowing.

This was Edward, naked Edward, groaning and writhing under her touch.

Just when she thought she might pass from the sheer intensity of it all, he flipped them over and position himself on top of her.

She opened herself to him completely, welcoming the thrust that seated him deeply into her body. Both of them gasped at the initial penetration, both of them remembering another time ,another place. Memories flashed before their eyes like a kaleidoscope, but they were nothing compared to the new memories they were creating then and there. They found their perfect rhythm like they had never been apart, like they had never done anything else than fucking.

They climaxed almost simultaneously; Bella first, aided by two callused fingers against her swollen clit, with Edward following close behind driven over the edge by the way her walls clenched tightly around his throbbing member.

He cried out her name and Bella thought she had never heard a sweater sound than her name on his lips in ecstasy.

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Spent and exhausted, they both found sleep a welcome companion after such a tumultuous evening.

Edward slept better then he had in months. For the first time in a long while, his rest came naturally and well earned instead at the end of a pill bottle.

He felt carefree and joyful and strong. He felt like he was seventeen again and could take on the world single-handedly. Sure, the alcohol in his system probably helped in that department, but it didn't hurt to have a beautiful woman in his arms either.

Not just any woman, Bella.

The moment her fingers had fluttered over the skin of his chest, and he had felt as though he had found his nirvana, and felt no desire to flee from that embrace.


	21. 121 Rude awakening

**Chapter 21 - #121 Rude awakening**

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_**Note #121**_

_Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured.*__  
_

_*Mark Twain_

Little Elliott McCarthy had woken unusually early that Friday morning and it wasn't because he was hungry or because he needed a change of diapers or anything trivial like that. No, it was because he was running a fever from a reoccurring ear infection. And that's why Emmett McCarthy found himself roaming the streets in search for the nearest 24-hour drugstore at six in the morning.

When he returned, baby Tylenol in hand, half an hour later, he was greeted by knife on his doorstep. The knife, which he recognized as one of his very own kitchen knifes, had been used to pinned down a scarlet red envelope to the floor in the foyer. As usual the note was addressed to Edward, but in actuality it was nothing more than a diversion. As it turned out, the real action that morning took place in another part of the building...

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When Edward woke up from sleep that morning, he opened his eyes to find a dark room and an empty space in the bed beside him. He lifted his head from the pillow with a deep frown, thinking Bella had already left, then he heard the water running in the bathroom and realized she must be in the shower.

He winced as his head suddenly decided to announce its presence by throbbing. How dense can one get. Of course she was still there. Well, duh… he was in HER bedroom, in HER apartment. If anyone should be sneaking out in the wee hours of the morning it should be him not her.

He made a move to get up but his stomach already turning from the mere thought of standing up and getting dressed, practically lurched when he moved to sit up just slightly.

Hangovers were a bitch.

He glanced over at the clock on the nightstand. The digital numbers on the display read 06:25. Bloody hell! Forget it… way too early to even think about getting out of bed. Another hour or two of good sleep wouldn't hurt. Getting dressed could wait… Making it back to his own room didn't seem all that important anymore.

He pulled the blankets closer and buried his face in the pillow. Within minutes he was snoring again.

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The warmth of the shower did nothing to wash away the confusion that been plaguing Bella's mind since the moment she had woken up that morning.

Edward was still out there, in her bed, sleeping the sleep of the innocent. Oh God. The thought of facing him again was like preparing to get on an emotional roller coaster. How was she going to face him, knowing how careless she had been?

After breakfast, she vowed, she would go see Seth first thing. How she could bring herself to admit to the mistake she had made she didn't know, but somehow she would, and Seth would make sure that Edward's safety wasn't compromised from her unprofessional actions.

How could she have done such a stupid thing? Granted, she had been frustrated and hormonal and, well, horny. Why couldn't she have just taken care of that 'itch' herself? It wouldn't have been the first time she took matters into her own hands so to speak. But no, not this time. Not when she had the real thing within arms reach…

She knew there was no point in getting upset over something that had already happened but she couldn't help but feel ashamed at her lack of self control. Not that she hadn't enjoyed it at the time. She had; there was no denying it. No, it was not the physical activity itself that she regretted, but rather its emotional repercussions that she feared.

Unhappy with the path her thoughts were taking, Bella yanked the showerhead off the wall. Adjusting the water she grabbed the soap and began washing herself. She could still feel his hands on her skin, his weight atop her body and the taste of him on her lips. They had used protection (thank God) but she could easily imagine his semen trickling down her leg. No matter how much soap she used, she could not wash away the memories they created together.

Bending over to retrieve the sponge she had dropped on the floor, she caught sight of herself in the glass door to the shower stall: naked and flushed, with her wet hair clinging to her face and water running down her slender frame. There were more curves to her body now than eight years ago. Back in those days she had been an innocent young school girl… a virgin… but the reflection in glass door; a woman with deep-red nipples, swollen and tender and tingly from a man's attention, was as far from innocent as one could get. Edward's body had changed too, from a flat boy's body into a muscled man's body. Contoured and hard. With a shudder Bella realized her washing had turned to caressing as her body reveled in the afterglow of (admit it, dammit) the strongest orgasm she'd had in years.

With a deep sigh she turned the water all the way to cold, and scrubbed herself from head to toe as harshly and hurtfully as possible, to punish herself and banish the last pleasurable tingles

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This time around it was the sound of footsteps that roused Edward from his slumber. He heard a door close and then seconds later he saw a silhouette of a woman in the streetlight coming through the window. He caught a whiff of Bella's perfume and grinned sleepily as he felt her crawl back into bed with him.

He could feel her slim arms wrap themselves around him as she snuggled up behind him. Her lips nuzzled his neck as she drew him closer.

They were quiet for a while, content with just lying there enjoying the other's company. Then hands started wandering and the stillness and the silence was broken. He tried to roll over and face her, but she wouldn't let him. Instead she wrapped a leg over his thighs and began tracing patterns on his chest with her hands.

"Ah, baby...ahem. Is this suppose to put me back to sleep or...um, get me started?"" he murmured and playfully batted her hands away.

She answered by letting her fingers drift downward, following the delicate trail of hair over his flat stomach and all the way down to the thick curly growth of hair which crowned his manhood.

"Oooooo…. Someone is feeling amorous this morning eh, Bella?"

Again, her answer was a wordless one. Copping a feel of his most intimate parts she startled him with her intensity as she began massaging his groin.

Edward froze. Even in his hungover state of mind he could tell that something was wrong. He couldn't quite put a finger on what it was, exactly, but he knew that something felt... off...

It took all his willpower to push her away.

"Please, baby let me turn around so I can see you," he pleaded as he struggled with maneuvering her off of him.

Still no answer… And that's when he figured out what it was that had him so bothered. She still hadn't said a word since she'd crawled back into bed with him… not one single word…not even a 'good morning'. Instead she had gone straight for the frosting, ignoring the cake. It was very unlike her. Where had his sweet lover from the night before disappeared to? It was almost as if he was a whole new person this morning. Ahhhhh….It only took a few seconds for realization to dawn on him. The perfume was too strong, the hair had the wrong texture, the body shape was wrong… everything was just wrong…

"What the hell… Turn the bloody light on, so I can see you, dammit." He jolted up, scrambling for the light on the bedside table. "Who are you? Because you sure as hell is not the same woman I went to bed with last night. She is not you, you're not her!"

With a groan that could have been heard for miles the woman spun around and shoved her elbow against his throat. "Who cares about that bitch! Shut up and fuck me! You know you want to."

That voice…he recognized that voice…in fact, he knew it all too well… Struggling for air, heart pounding in his chest, Edward finally managed to reach his arm out far enough switch the light on, only to instantly regret it.

"Holy #%$"

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Lost in thoughts, memories, and confused emotions, Bella stayed in the shower long after the water turned icy,

What finally brought her out of her trance was the sound of arguing and raised voices. Somewhere nearby a couple was having a really bad disagreement. It sounded close, almost as if it came from the room next door.

As she stepped out of the shower and reached for a towel, she could've sworn it was Edward's voice she heard, but that didn't make any sense. Edward had been sound asleep last time she had checked. Who would he be talking to? Not that many people knew about his whereabouts to begin with and the front door was locked and monitored with a sensor alarm. Seth would not have let anyone enter the apartment without warning her first.

That's when it struck her… her cell phone… she had not brought her cell phone with her into the bathroom. Not only had she forgotten it in the bedroom, tucked away underneath her pillow, but it was most likely still set on vibrate-only mode, which was not good given the circumstances.

Cursing under her breath, she leaped for the door, leaving little pools of water on the floor. Just as she put her hand on the door handle she heard another noise that made her stomach drop, the sickening thud of flesh hitting flesh. Even more unsettling was the soul wrenching howl of pain that followed.

Her initial instinct had been right. This was not good, not good at all… Something was wrong, terribly wrong. The door lock snapped as she turned it but when she tried the handle the door wouldn't open. Alarmed, she turned the handle the other way. No response. She twisted the lock; there were only four possible combinations of handle and lock positions, and still the door wouldn't budge. Something was blocking the door.

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Edward's mind was whirling, the lack of oxygen making his thoughts sluggish. "Angela! What the hell is wrong with you?"" he croaked, trying to keep the panic out of his voice. "What are you doing here? Get away from me now!"

"What's, the matter sweetheart? You don't like my company? You didn't seem to be complaining a minute ago," the young woman taunted in a sultry voice as she tightened her grip on his throat. "In fact I think you liked it. You wanted it. You still want it… ME , ME, ME not her."

Edward barely had time to register what she was doing before she had shoved him flat on his back and straddled his body.

Repulsed at the invasion, he managed to wrestle free and crawl off the bed in the nick of time.

"Keep your hands off me", he roared, carefully inching backwards towards the bedside table where he hoped, prayed that Bella still kept her gun. "I mean it, stay away from me."

His hands were shaking as he fumbled with the drawer behind his back. It was stuck; it took several fierce tugs before he managed to slid it open.

"Shut up, just shut up!," Angela slammed her hands against the sides of her head covering her ears. "Why do you go after her when you can have me? She's nothing! She isn't anything special! How could you fall for her?," she rambled on in an almost incoherent manner, barely taking a breath between words. "It doesn't matter now. She won't be bothering us anymore… I've seen to that…"

"You have what?" Edward interrupted, his voice snapping out like a slap. He felt his fingertips touch the cold metal of the small handgun hidden in the drawer of the bedside table. "Where is Bell-… B? What have you done with her?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Angela answered with a sick demented laugh that sent shivers down Edward's spine. His fingers wrapped around the handle and clicked the safety off.

"Stop laughing and answer me! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?"

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Casting a glance around the room, Bella searched desperately for something she could use to pry the door open. There was nothing.

What had mere minutes ago represented her own personal sanctuary, now seemed like a cage.

Gripping the handle tighter, she braced her foot against the doorframe and pushed, willing it with everything she had to open and let her get to Edward before it was too late. Slowly, the weight pressing against the door was subsiding. Then suddenly it flew open with a loud bang. Losing her bearings Bella all but fell into the room and into the arms of a very cautious looking Edward.

"Goddamnit Swan, your strength and beauty are indisputable, but your timing leaves much to be desired," he commented in a voice that sounded both slightly perturbed and very much relieved.

He was unharmed, she concluded upon assessing the situation, unharmed, naked and with a gun in his hand. The room looked like it had been turned completely upside down. No wonder the bathroom door had been stuck. Pillows, sheets, blankets, clothes and even furniture had been thrown about as though a tornado had blown through… or as though a stalker had gone berserk, because that was exactly what had happen.

Bella had to give Edward props for taking control over the situation. She was well aware of his dislike of firearms and the shock he must have experienced upon discovering the true identity of the stalker. Despite all that he had managed to keep the intruder from leaving the room.

Being held under gunpoint must have had a somewhat calming effect on Angela Webber. Not only had she barricaded herself in a far corner of the room, but she was rocking her body from side to side, babbling incoherent nonsense over and over again. A mental breakdown or just an act? Bella couldn't tell for sure. This girl had fooled her before and she wasn't about to take any chances.

Reclaiming her gun, she quickly sent Edward out of the room, officially to search for Seth, unofficially simply because she wanted him out of the danger zone as quickly as possibly. An unwise decision she realized as she watched him waddle out of sight clad in nothing but a sheet wrapped around his waist. He might just as well have had a neon sign with 'just got laid' flashing in red letters over his head.

With a sigh Bella threw a careful glance at the suspect before she began gathering various articles of clothing from the floor in quick, jerking motions. Backup was for all she knew mere minutes away and soon the whole apartment would be invaded by FBI people. She could already hear the rumor mill churning…Clothes everywhere and there were condom wrappers on the floor…CONDOM WRAPPERS… Could it get any more obvious?

Just as she bent down to pick up a wrinkled foil package, she caught a glimpse of motion in the corner of her eye and that's when her world swirled to black. Bella's head exploded in pain from a sharp blow to her temple and the ground rushed up to meet her body, but she didn't notice. She was out cold.

* * *

AN: So, Angela is the stalker. Did you see that coming? Was it too obvious, or was it too subtle? There were some clues, I'm not sure if you picked up on them...

- The stalker kept track on Edwards whereabouts because she was working herself towards becoming a good friend of the family.

- The stalker could come and go as she pleased because she lived in the very same building as the Cullen/McCarty/Hale's.

- The stalker was a frequent guest inside Emmett and Rose's apartment because she babysat for baby Elliot on a weekly basis. Several envelopes and notes were actually found near the baby.

- After having taken a peak inside her apartment/bedroom Bella described Angela as a compulsive neat freak. That in it self doesn't have to be a bad thing, but severe OCD sometimes goes hand in hand with other mental health problems.

- Whenever a woman got close to Edward, there would be some kind of threats made against her, but there were never any threats made against Angela.

Of course there were also plenty of false leads and twists to the plot to keep you all guessing. I have a few more chapter planned. Keep on reading if you're interested in finding out more about the true motive of the stalker.


	22. 122 Agent down I repeat, agent down!

**Chapter 22 - #122 Agent down. I repeat, agent down!**

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_Biotech billionaire in heated argument over breach of privacy_  
_ByNew York Times | Published: August 27, 2010 | Filed at 2:37 p.m. ET_

_The first block of Grand State Street was shut down temporarily this morning as the New York Police Department was called to the home of Emmett McCarthy Cullen over a heated argument between the homeowner and a 20 year old female believed to be the babysitter._

_The incident began about 7:40 a.m. when neighbors reported hearing a domestic disturbance next door with yelling and items being thrown. Eyewitnesses report that Emmett, the oldest son of biotech mogul Carlisle Cullen, was seen restraining the still unidentified female in wait for the police arrive to the site._

_A NYPD spokeswoman has confirmed that a mentally unstable woman was taken into custody, but can not disclose what role, if any, the 28 year old gym owner and biotech heir played in the dispute._

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The next time Bella opened her eyes, she was in a hospital bed with many layers of bandages wrapped around her skull. Every inch of her head hurt, ached. Her face itched. She tried to move her hand to scratch, but couldn't. Someone squeezed her hand reassuringly.

That's when she realized she wasn't alone in the room. Edward sat to her right, holding her hand, and Seth stood by the window with his back to the bed.

"Water… need water," she managed to croak, her voice broken and faint.

"Hey, there" Edward said with a smile. "Glad to see you awake! You gave us quite a scare." Visibly relieved, he moved his chair even closer to the bed and offered her a sip of something cool and sweet and soothing.

"How long…? How long have I've been out?" Her throat was raw and painful though she didn't remember screaming."

"It's past 11 o'clock now so four hours." Edward brushed an errant strand of hair from her face.

"What…" Bella licked her dry lips. "What happened?" she asked directing it at her colleague on the other side of the room.

"Head injury, Bella," Seth explained as he walked over to her bed. "I know how you feel about hospitals, but it's standard procedure. You took a nasty blow to your head and passed out. We had to bring you in. "

"Yes of course… but I don't recall a head injury. How did THAT happen?"

"Baby, don't you remember?" Edward asked gently. "Someone broke into the apartment and…"

"The stalker," Bella interjected, "Angela Weber, is she… did she….? "

"Don't worry. Cheney and McCarthy caught her, she's in custody. "

"Is she talking?"

"No, not yet, but she will… We'll make sure of that," Seth promised just as the door opened and a man with obligatory white coat and dangling stethoscope stepped into the room.

"Ms. Swan, hello. Good to see you up and alert. I'm Dr. Svensson. I treated you when you were first brought into the ER, " the doctor introduced himself and shook hands with not only Bella, but her two visitors as well.

"I'd like do another examination now that you're awake. I know your head must hurt so I'll try to be quick. Is that alright with you, Ms. Swan?"

"Okay," Bella agreed, clearing her throat somewhat nervously. She really hated doctors and hospitals.

"Gentlemen, you can stay in the room if Ms. Swan doesn't mind, but I must ask you to take a step back and give me some space to work with."

Both men nodded in agreement and did as the doctor had asked.

Turning his attention back to his patient, Dr. Svensson brought out a pen and small flashlight. "First I'd like to see if you can move your fingers for me."

Bella fisted her hands, careful not to move the IV on her wrist.

"Good. Now your toes…"

"Excellent! Look straight ahead please," Dr. Svensson said, taking hold of her chin. "This might feel a little bit uncomfortable, but I need to check if your pupils are even and responsive to light."

Bella blinked rapidly, then focused her eyes on the shiny stethoscope slung around the man's neck.

"Good, now follow the light…"

Up, down, left and right… Bella's wincing slightly as her head protested at the movements.

"Excellent! Let's move on. I'm going to ask you a few questions, just normal procedure when dealing with concussions. Okay?

"Sure."

"Do you know what year it is, Ms. Swan?"

"2010" The answer was a knee jerk reaction, it slipped over her tongue without any need for thought.

"And the date?"

"August 26th… no wait 27th". It took a little more thought than the previous one, but the doctor seemed pleased.

"That's right and do you know where you are and why you're here?"

Bella chewed her bottom lip slightly before answering."Let's see… this is a hospital and my friends just told me I have a head injury. Judging by the throbbing pain and the black hole of nothingness where my brain used to be. I'd say they are right. "

The doctor smiled, putting her more at ease. "I can assure you, your brain is still in there," he said and scribbled something on his clipboard. "Now can you tell me your full name?"

"Oh, that's an easy one. It's Isabella Marie Bl-… err Swan. It's Isabella Swan," she corrected herself with a faint smile. "But please call me Bella."

"Alright Bella, next question. It's actually two questions. Who is your next of kind and when was your last hospital visit or medical exam?"

"Right, my parents are my closest blood relatives. I don't know who filled out my forms when they brought me here, but my mother, Renee, should be the one listed in my paperwork. "

"Don't worry about the paperwork. You're doing good, Bella. There was a second question. Do you remember it or do you need me to repeat it?"

"No, I remember. I'm required by my employer to get a full physical check-up twice a year. The last one was four months ago."

"That's a good policy. I have one final question for you. What's the last thing you remember before waking up here in this bed?"

"Okay, lets see… My memory is kind of blurry. I remember waking up this morning. I remember going into the bathroom and getting into the shower.. after that…I don't know…," she trailed off, glancing quickly at Seth whowas leaning against the rear wall of the box-shaped room.

"We think you slipped and banged your head on the rim of the tub," her colleague hurried to explain.

"Oh?" Bella blinked confused for a moment before she realized it was a cover story to keep the good doctor from asking too many questions. "Right, that sounds like me. It's all fuzzy right now."

"That's to be expected," the doctor nodded. "The 'fuzziness', or 'short term memory loss' which is the medical term for it, is normal with this kind of head injuries. Your long term memory seems to be intact, so I don't think it's anything we need to worry about. But just to make sure everything is alright, one of the neurologists will be down here shortly for a full evaluation."

Bella took a deep, anxious breath, "A full evaluation, how long does that take?"

"About half an hour or so. The neurologist will be checking your reflexes, your balance and your coordination skills and aft-… "

"…after that I'll be released, right?"

"I'd like to keep you here overnight for observation. All head injuries are potentially very serious and should be monitored closely."

She couldn't help but shudder involuntarily at the thought of spending the night in the hospital.

Sensing her distress, Edward pushed his chair closer to the bed. "I'll be here for as long as you need me, Bella. I'll even spend the night in this very chair if I have to. And besides, you'll be in good hands, right doc?"

"Of course. You have nothing to worry about," Dr Svensson replied looking up from the chart he was scribbling on. "We're almost done here, but there is one more issue I'd like to address before I leave," he said, his voice taking on a somewhat more serious tone. "I need to know what medications you are currently taking so that I can prescribe you appropriate pain relief."

"That wont be necessary," Bella quickly interjected. "I'm good, thank you. No meds needed and no potential drug interactions to be concerned about."

"Alright, but the swelling will get worse before it gets better. You might want something later to help you get you through the night."

"I doubt it will come to that," Bella shook her head, instantly regretting it as pain made spots appear behind her eyes, but even so, her word was clear when she spoke. "I'd like to stay drug free if possible."

Dr. Svensson cleared his throat. "The reason I brought this up is because we did some standard blood work when you were first brought in here and found traces of fluoxetine hydrochloride, which is a common substance in certain kinds of prescribed drugs."

"Well, I was taking antibiotics a few months ago… that would show up in your tests, right?"

"Right, but no, that's not the kind of drugs I'm talking about."

"Maybe we should finish this conversation in private," Bella replied, giving him a pointed look.

"Of course, I'm sorry," he apologized immediately upon realizing his error. "Gentlemen, I'll have to ask you to leave the room."

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The remainder of the day passed in a haze of test results and medical mumbo jumbo. Thankfully, the neurologist didn't find anything too alarming and he did a pretty lenghtly exam.

Bella's memory remained fuzzy, but at least she had managed to put some of the pieces together. She recalled an ashtray, a solid heavy glass ashtray. She recalled seeing it in the hands of the stalker, in the hands of Angela, before her head exploded into pain and everything went black..

The gash had been shallow, but the stitch count ended up being rather high, leaving Bella with another 21 stitches to add to her already long list of battle scars. She had a concussion, that was a given. It was graded moderate, but they still insisted on keeping her overnight as a precaution. Apparently it was possible, likely even, that she was suffering from some slight internal bleeding just under the surface bones of the skull. It would clear up on it's own with no long lasting damage.

She was to stay in hospital for at least 24 hours and then take it easy for another week or so. Bella did not like the sound of that one single bit. Not when she had a case to close and a suspect to interrogate. The fact that she had to go through Seth to get any information from her FBI superiors did nothing to soothe her headache... especially when her colleague had turned uncharacteristically quiet, uncooperative even.

"Geez Seth, yell at me some more why don't you," she snarled at him as he returned to her hospital room after yet another one of his seemingly endless phone calls.

"Excuse me? I haven't said a word," he answered her calmly.

"Precisely, you have been quiet all day. Spit it out already! I know I made a mistake. I'm a big girl I can take it."

"Not here. Cullen will be back any minute. You should try and some rest. We can talk tomorrow."

"I won't get any sleep until we settle this. I say we talk now," she insisted staring him down in a battle of wills. "You are mad at me, I can tell. "

Seth was the first to look away. "Okay fine! You're right, I'm mad at you," he finally admitted. "Look, I'm not stupid. I know what happened between you and Cullen. I saw it coming MILES away. I even encouraged it… but this, THIS, I can't overlook."

"WHAT?"

"THIS!"

Bella watched cautiously as Seth pulled something up from his pocket, but flinched in surprise when she saw what it was.

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She still had the pill bottle in her hand when Edward returned from his food run about fifteen minutes later.

The label read 'M. Miller'. M for Marie, her middle name, and Miller after her grandmothers maiden name. Misplacing such a personal item had been a big mistake but lying about it when the pill bottle had turned up in the investigation had undoubtedly been an even bigger one. Seth was threatening to have her reported for endangering the assignment. She'd be back to desk duty in no time… or worse…

No, she didn't want to deal with those thoughts right now.

She also didn't want to deal with Edward, but it was hardly like she could put it off much longer. He wanted answers and he wouldn't settle for just any answers – of that much she was certain.

She just didn't know what to say to him or how to say it.

Finally she settled for the direct approach and held out her hand offering him a better look at the medicine container. "They are antidepressants. I have been taking them for a while… Err…for about a year actually, but I have been gradually cutting down on the dosa-..."

Before she could finish, Edward stopped her with a shake of his head.

"I figured that much," he stated abruptly, but calmly. "You should have told me. You're playing a very dangerous game here Swan. I wasn't the only one being kept in the dark about this, was I? Your co worker's reaction was very telling"

"I need you to know that those pills haven't affected my ability to work and function normally, not even in high pressured situations."

"Sure honey…. and that bandage around your head is just a fashion statement."

"Gawd, who am I kidding. I'm gonna lose my job for sure, aren't I?"

Her chin trembled as if she might cry.

"Maybe, but let's cross that bridge when we get to it." Dropping to a seat on the edge of the bed Edward pulled her up into his arms. "You're strong, you'll get through this."

"I don't feel all that strong right now. I can't even get out of the bed without passing out or puking or both."

"You should let them give you something for the pain," he murmured wiping a stray tear off her cheek with his thumb.

"No!"

"I'm sure the doctor can suggest something that will take the edge off without knocking you out. You need to get some rest before you deal with your boss."

"Gah! I cant think straight, my head hurts so bad," she whimpered pitifully.

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AN: Thank you for reading and reviewing!


	23. Chapter 23 – Bedrest

**Chapter 23 – Bedrest**

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.

_**Associated Press (AP) Seattle Washington**__ – Nanny held for trespassing, resisting arrest, two counts of assault on a federal agent and destruction of private property._

_Sources close to the Cullen Medical cooperation, the NY branch of Seattle based __Voltera Biotech Inc,__ say a stalker situation was the reason behind the resent police raid in the Cullen/McCarthy building in downtown Brooklyn NY._

_In a statement, __Voltera Biotech Inc__ rep, Stephenie Meyer, said that "The matter has been turned over to the FBI and the New York District Attorney's office. It is currently an ongoing investigation and we are confident that it will be handled appropriately by all involved."_

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_**5:06 PM August 27, 2010**_

_**.  
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"No, no…. No don't….Not Ed-ward…Nooo."

Bella's muffled whimper woke him immediately.

Stretching to work the kinks out of his neck, back, and shoulders, Edward rubbed his eyes and reached for her hand. Almost instantly his touch seemed to calm her. Soon her breathing settled back into the slow rhythm of restful slumber.

True to his word Edward was spending the night curled up in a hospital chair and it was everything but comfortable. Then again he had gone trough so many sleepless nights lately that_ one more_ hardly made any difference.

He had started out in an orange plastic chair in a semi-private, florescent lit, waiting room, because apparently that was as far as the Cullen name and fortune got him. The head of nurses, Mrs. Cope, was the no-nonsense, rule enforcing, iron lady type of gal and could not be bribed or flattered or coerced, no matter what. Edward even went as far as offering a sizeable donation to the hospital's children's cancer ward, but all that got him was an upgrade to a cot in the on-call room… four floors down, next to the surgical ward. It was an offer he turned down in favor of staying within the vicinity of the emergency short stay ward. If he couldn't be with her, he wanted to at least be close by.

Time moved impossibly slow. Alice brought him a change of clothes and a pillow, she and Jasper were the last ones to leave around midnight. Different members of his family had been coming and going throughout the evening, baby sitting him, even though he had assured them it wasn't necessary anymore. FBI had taken the suspect into custody and besides the hospital security had been informed of the situation and all the exits were being covered.

Edward remained in his plastic chair until sometime around half past four in the morning when he was woken by the smell of coffee. The heavenly scented beverage came in a sippy cup courtesy of a scrub clad male nurse who kindly informed him that Mrs. Cope, aka the old dragon, had finished her shift for the night. Nurse Alan, as his name tag read, also dropped a sly little hint that the nurses station would be unattended for a few minutes while he ran a quick errand.

Needless to say, Edward bid the waiting room farewell pretty quick after that. The hallway was empty save for a few shadows lurking in the corners and he managed to cross it and find the right door without being stopped or seen by anyone. Hallelujah!

Bare sickly green walls greeted him along with a single metal framed bed. The room was shoe-box sized and deprressive, but at least it was a private room, a detail he had seen to himself when Bella was first admitted.

He found his Bella sound asleep on the bed… his Bella… that's what he had taken to call her in his head. She appeared to be blissfully knocked out on the pain meds that she reluctantly and after much persuasion had agreed to take. Edward noted that _even in her sleep she looked_ completely exhausted. There was faint bruising under her eyes and _her cheeks drawn and pale_andyet she still was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen.

He dragged the chair next to her bed a few inches closer and settled down too watch over her as she slept. He was fairly certain she would do the same thing for him if the situation was reversed. Hell, she had done the same thing for him, not just once, but multiple times the last couple of months.

Sometimes he sensed that Bella cared for him far more deeply than she would ever admit. At other times she seemed to be merely putting up with him out of a sense of duty.

They still hadn't really talked about what had happened between them the previous night. It had felt so right, the two of them together…. All the touches, the way they moved together, the sounds... Yet the uncertainties were many... as were the obstacles that needed to be addressed…

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Edward was vaguely aware of sudden movements in the room. The movements grew in intensity until they had him wide awake. He raised his head and turned his gaze towards the bed where his Bella was whimpering pitifully in her sleep. She wasn't just making dissatisfied noises, though, no she was struggling, karate style, with someone or something that wasn't there. It was the third time he had woken up in a similar manner.

Her cries were unintelligible, but the meaning was clear and Edward couldn't bear listening to it any longer. Nightmares were something he was all too familiar with. When holding her hand wasn't enough to calm her down, he resolutely climbed into the small hospital bed and took a firm hold of her shaking body.

She trashed in his arms, angry snarls erupting from her throat and then just as suddenly as it started, she stilled.

"That's better," he soothed. "It's just a dream, everything will be all right."

He heard her heave a heavy sigh, as he took one of her clenched hands, and eased her fingers apart.

"Edward?"

"I'm right here."

"I'll have the Mushroom Ravioli," she muttered, smacked her lips, and went back to snoring.

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When Bella woke, she woke with a jolt, her breath raggedly heaving to and from her lungs as she stared, wild-eyed at the ceiling. The room was dark save for the dull light coming through the cracks around the door. She didn't know where she was for a moment, or why her head felt so heavy, but then it came back to her in a rush of memoriesthat took her breath away.

"Edward?"

"I'm right here. Go back to sleep." His voice was close, surprisingly close. She could feel his breath caressing the skin of her neck like a warm summer breeze.

She strained her puffy, heavy lidded eyes in an effort to locate him the darkness. Was that an arm she felt draped across her middle? She flexed her shoulders experimentally and tried to shrug out of his hold, but it was no use.

"No sudden movements, sweetheart," he scolded her, tightening his embrace and placing his chin on her shoulder. An gesture that was not only blatantly possessive, but utterly confusing as well for poor Bella.

"What are you doing in my bed?," she asked while fighting the fog that seemed to have settled over her brain.

"It's cozy and I like it here."

"I bet you do," she groaned. "But I don't want you here."

"Too bad, because I'm not moving one inch. It's the middle of the night. Try to get some rest Bella."

"But…"

"No buts. We can argue about this in the morning. Right now you should just try and relax."

'Relax', well that was easy for him to say. Did he seriously expect her get any rest with his limbs wrapped around her like a pretzel? She was not… and would never be… "the pretzel kind of gal".

"Sorry, did you say something?"

Bella's cheeks warmed when she realized she had said that last part about not liking pretzels aloud. "Ugh… Never mind," she grumbled, squeezing her eyes tightly shut. Great, first she was drooling on him and now she was rambling like a brain-damaged moron. No wonder he sounded concerned.

"Are you feeling alright?," he asked as he brought up a hand to touch her cheek gently. "You look a little flushed."

Annoyed, she swatted his hand away. "Gee, I wonder why? I'm feeling a bit crowded here. You can't possibly think this is comfortable."

"Why not, you're all soft and lovely to cuddle."

"Whoa, inappropriate much," she scoffed, throwing him a glare.

"What?" Edward asked innocently. "It was a compliment. "

Bella struggled to sit up, but before she could even gain her bearings he had pulled her back into his embrace again. "See, soft like a kitten," he mused as he pressed her flush up against his chest and tucked her head against his neck.

"Even the softest of kittens have claws," she warned, wriggling to get away.

Edward half-sighed, half-groaned. "Kitten, you better stop squirming or certain things won't stay soft much longer."

She halted her movements immediately, knowing all too well which certain thing he was referring to.

"This is a hospital, for Christ sake!"

"Uhm yeah, but I'm not sick. I'm a perfectly healthy male, having a perfectly healthy male reaction."

"That's exactly why you shouldn't be in this bed in the first place."

"Don't make me the bad guy. I tried to wake you, but you wouldn't have that. Instead you clung to me like there was no tomorrow. I'm only here in this bed because you were calling out my name in your sleep."

"Clearly that was the morphine talking," Bella huffed, feeling her cheeks grow warm again.

"Of course, kitten, whatever you say," Edward smirked. "Obviously you're still quite a bit loopy or we wouldn't be having this conversation."

"Nuh-uh, not loopy. I might be a little sluggish, but I know when I'm being groped against my will!"

"Are you sure about that kitten? I could have sworn I heard you purr just a second ago," he teased, his voice dropping to a dangerously husky level. "I've heard a good ol' orgasm can be quite a powerful pain reliever."

Oh, lordy… "You've got to be kidding me. This is not just any bed, it's a HOSPITAL bed and I'm in this place for a reason. Does 'concussion', ring a bell?"

She heard him sigh, or rather she felt him sigh. "Sorry. You're right, this is no joking matter, " he apologized after a few moments of silence. "When we found you on the floor, unconscious, with your head in a puddle of blood….I thought … I feared…"

"It looked worse than it was, " Bella hurried to silence him before he could finish his sentence. "Could we maybe not talk about this right now. Still, loopy, remember?"

"I thought you said you were sluggish, not loopy," he chided her, but it was in an unbickering sort of way.

"Well, that was before the ceiling started spinning. And the double vision is trippy as hell."

"Bella, should I get a doctor in here?"

"Sure go ahead. I'd love to hear you explain what you're doing in my bed," she laughed, but then she realized he was serious. "No, I'm fine. My head hurt but it's not too bad."

"That's good," Edward said slowly. "I hate too see you in pain. Look, I guess neither one of us is in the right mind frame right now, but we really do need to talk Bella, like really talk."

"Not now," she protested with a frown. "Not like this."

"No, not now. Later, when this is all over."

"When this is all over," she agreed, closing her eyes to avoid further discussion on the topic.

An uneasy silence settled over the room. After a moment, Bella sighed. "Edward, if you want me to get any rest at all, you really need to give me some space to breathe."

"Right," he sighed and scooted away from her about a fraction of an inch. "This better?"

"Did you even move? Like at all?"

"There is no pleasing you, is there?"

"You're taking up an awful lot of space."

He moved again, making the metal frame of the bed rattle like a shopping cart full of empty soda cans.

"Look who's squirming now?"

"It's a narrow bed."

"Sure, it is. I know a bulge when I feel one and that thing poking me in my back right this very moment certainly feels like a massive one."

"Sorry, I should get up."

"Up?… No, but an inch lower would be nice... If you really want to please me, that is," she giggled because apparently her verbal filter had completely vanished at this point.

"I meant, I should get up and out of this bed, " Edward clarified. "You're looking awfully flushed again."

"I'm not."

"You most certainly are."

Damn! He was right, not only was her heart beating at an alarming rate, but certain parts of her body seemed to be moving on their own accord, searching for heath and friction from anything within reach.

"Gah, it's your fault. You got me all horny," she whined in an almost longing tone.

"It's the morphine. It's heightening your senses. Just to be clear, we're not having sex."

"Of course not. I have a headache."

"Then stop rubbing up against me, Swan. The only way that head of yours is going to stop throbbing is if you keep it still."

"I'm throbbing alright, but it's not my head that's the problem…"

"Isabella Marie Swan, I'm not having sex with you while you're high as a kite. There will be no funny business. No sudden movements, no rubbing, no squirming and most definitely no penetration."

His attempt to be dismissive had quite the opposite effect and Bella found herself shuddering involuntarily. "Say… say that again," she asked breathlessly.

"Isabella," he said her name in a warning tone of voice.

"Not that…" Her eyes were glassy as she turned around to face him on the narrow bed. "…the other part."

"I mean it." His voice sounded strained. "No sex, no penetration, no sudden movements…"

"What about touching... " she breathed against his neck, knowing full well what kind of reaction that would elicit.

He didn't disappoint. First he shuddered, then he stuttered, "W-.. What about it?"

"I crave to touch and be touched… like a kitten…Will you pet me?"

"I… your head… we shouldn't… I shouldn't."

Ignoring his protests, she grounded her hips experimentally against his groin and was rewarded with a throaty moan. His bulge was not a just bulge anymore, it was a fully erect, rock solid hard on.

"A little rubbing never killed anyone," she mumbled, reaching out to cop a fell of him through the fabric of sweatpants.

…..

It was when her lips found the spot, yes, that spot, the one behind his ear, where his pulse hammered against his neck, that he realized just how screwed he was.

He kept repeating " No sex, no penetration, no sudden movements " over and over again, chanting it in his mind like it was a mantra, but then she fondled his cock and all reasonable thoughts flew out the window.

"Sh*t ... okay fine. If getting you off is what it takes to get you to relax then I'll do it, but you're laying still. I'm doing all the work and you're not moving one inch, you hear me?"

"Whatever you say, sugar," Bella laughed, looking awfully smug with herself as she guided his hand between her legs.

"You drive me fucking crazy," he whispered against her skin as his mouth traveled up her neck and to her chin until it finally found her mouth. Their tongues twirled, tangled and mated and they both moaned in unison. The hospital gown allowed for easy access and soon his fingers were parting her soft wet folds and gliding through the center of her silky heat. Between the kissing and the rubbing, his Bella became very excited, very fast.

With combined efforts they discarded her gown. Edward's own clothes were becoming increasingly tight and uncomfortable and he wanted them gone as well… He craved more, needed more.

"This is killing me. I gotta feel you, babe. Lemme have some skin on skin, just for a moment," he muttered pulling back to fumble with the drawstring of his pants.

He pressed his hips, his thighs, his swollen cock as close and as hard against her groin as he could without actually being inside her. There would be no penetration and he intended to stick to that vow.

"Uhhh ... you feel so good," Bella groaned, arching against him like a feline. At that moment she really did remind him of a cat, a sex kitten, gentle but wild, soft but with claws.

He bucked against her and gripped her knee and drew it up his leg until it wouldn't go any farther. She took that as encouragement to open up wider and add a slight rocking motion of her own.

They wriggled and moved, they rubbed and bumped against each other. It felt incredible and soon his body was moving on its own accord. His hips grinding faster, harder, lower and until BAM! Tap A was buried to the hilt in slot B, only it wasn't mechanical or clinical at all, it was primal and raw - and totally unintentional, but oh-so-enjoyable…. so good.

He didn't last long, but neither did she. The increased friction made her grunt and growl in a rather animalistic way. A few thrusts was all it took before her inner walls began to convulse around him. His own release came a scant moment later, the intensity of it leaving him dumb and blind. And for a moment, completely and utterly happy… until reality reared its ugly, bandaged, head.

Was that a whimper he heard? Was she hurt? Was she conscious? Was she breathing?

Damn! He knew this was a bad idea…

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As dawn broke Edward found himself once again back in a plastic chair.

YES, he was back in the chair next to the hospital bed again. It was safer that way… It was easier to think when he wasn't touching her, wasn't holding her, wasn't breathing in her every scent. Besides, if there was one thing Bella needed, it was undisturbed sleep.

Lost in thought, he didn't hear the door sliding open, nor notice that someone had joined him, not until he felt a gentle tap on his shoulder, that is.

His breath caught in his throat for a horrible second before he realized it was just someone from the medical staff. Laughing at his own idiocy, he turned to the woman.

"Sorry. Didn't hear you come in." He sat up straighter and rubbed the back of his neck.

"That's okay. I'm a nurse, my name is Camille. I just stepped on my shift a few minutes ago," the woman explained as she took a few steps closer to the bed to check on the patient.

"Does she need to be awake for this?" Edward asked glancing over at the sleeping form on the bed.

"No that wont be necessary. I'm not going to poke and prod, I'm just here to take her vitals."

Bella stirred slightly as the BP cuff tightened around her arm. She opened her eyes to slits as the nurse slipped the thermometer into her mouth.

"Good morning, Ms. Swan," The nurse greeted her cheerily. "How are we feeling this morning?"

"Mi 'ed 'urts a bit," she mumbled around the glass stick before her eyes drifted shut again.

"Well, that's to be expected. You have quite a lot of stitches, a concussion and some major swelling. I'm afraid it's going to hurt for a while," the nurse explained in a far too cheery voice.

"Her condition hasn't gotten worse though, has it?" Edward asked with concern.

"No," the nurse shook her head as she removed the thermometer and recorded the information. "Everything looks fine. In fact, I think she might be going home today. I can't make any promises, of course, but like I said everything looks fine."

Bella mumbled something un-intelligible under her breath. She didn't feel 'fine', sure her headache was reasonably mild, but her body was … well sore, for lack of better words. She had a feeling it was better to keep that information to herself though…

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Bella was released from the hospital just around lunchtime. Seth picked her up in an anonymous black rental car. Edward was there too, of course, and so was Alice and Jasper. However, the welcoming committee was anything but festive. It turned out they came baring news… good news and bad news….

The good news being that the suspect, Ms. Weber, had made certain admissions. Not a full blown confession or anything, but enough to have the suspect transferred to a nearby mental health facility where she was to undergo psychiatric evaluation. This is where the bad news came into play. While waiting for the transport to be arranged the suspect had used her shoe strings and bra to hang herself inside her holding cell.

"We miscalculated. She showed no signs of being self destructive," Seth tried to explain as they pulled out from the parking lot outside the hospital. "We knew the stalker was to be considered unstable, but Ms. Weber seemed reasonably calm and level headed. We weren't even sure we had the right person until the slip up the other day,"

"The slip up?" Edward questioned from the back seat.

"The 'hot-chocolate-incidence'. She got carried away with the rat poison. We found fragments of fingerprints... and uh….," Seth explanation came to a halt when he registered the shocked silence in the car and realized that Bella had kept the Cullens in the dark about a thing or two as far as the investigation was concerned.

"Swan, you didn't tell them?"

"I saw no reason to mention anything about this before we made the arrest."

"I'm not sure I'm following here," Alice interrupted, confusion evident in her voice. "She put rat poison in Edward's hot chocolate?"

"Strychnine, not enough to kill anyone, but enough to make you quite ill," Bella clarified quickly, throwing an nervous glance in Edward's direction. "Luckily, one of our agents got suspicious and intervened before anyone got hurt."

He returned the glance with a ferocious scowl. "When exactly was this? How long have you known who the stalker was without informing me?"

Bella heard the accusation in his voice, he was upset that much was clear.

"Three days…. but we had everything under control, there was no real danger. I wanted to make sur-…"

"THREE FUCKING DAYS?," he exploded practically gritting his teeth in fury.

.

...

.

So, the stalker was solid gone - dead - out of the picture. It should have been a relief. Yet, the news of the poor girls suicide ended up hitting Bella hard. She could only imagine what it was like for those who had known her longer such as his friends and family.

The reactions to the news were somewhat varied. Little baby boy Elliott for one was crushed having lost his favorite babysitter. His parents emotions on the other hand were leaning more towards guilt, shock, and disbelief.

And as for Edward… well actually Bella had no idea what Edward's reaction was because he had flat out refused to speak to her ever since finding out about the strychnine spiked chocolate.

She had hoped to get a chance to explain the reasoning behind at least some of her actions, but it appeared as though he had purposely made himself unreachable. She had tried multiple ways of getting through to him. She had apologized in writing and she had meant it, but she was done groveling to him. Bella Swan did not grovel. Especially not to someone who was too much of a chicken shit to stay around and talk things through face to face.

She knew she was better off cutting all ties and moving on. Emotional attachment was a luxury she couldn't afford. Not if she wanted to get her career back on track. She had been lucky this time, lucky that the suits from Internal Affairs had been reasonable and settled for a six weeks suspension. After that, there would be both physical and psychological evaluations to pass before she would be reinstated as a field agent, but at least she still had a job to return to.

That job had been her lifeline, her only link to sanity, when everything else around her had turned to ashes. She was not about to allow herself to mess that up by losing her head over a man.

She felt a stupid tear scurry down her cheek and she clenched her eyes shut. It was going to be the last sign of emotion, she vowed to herself. She'd gotten over him before. She'd get over him again, for good this time.

Hadn't she already gotten through the first week of being without him?

She would get over him eventually.

...

**An: one more chapter to go... *SHAMELESS BEGGING* Come on people, this story is worth more than 37 reviews. Last chance to hit the button and give it some love. I'll take anything I can get, a one word comment, a smiley face...anything... *END SHAMELESS BEGGING***


	24. Chapter 24  Coming to an end

**Chapter 24 – Coming to an end**

An: This twisted little tale is coming to an end. Can a fic have more than one villain? The stalker is out of the picture, but that doesn't necessary mean that things will be smooth sailing from here on out. Renee will make another appearance in this final chapter. I'll be using her to fill you in on the last clues in this puzzle. Remember Jamie T Wilson, the shady photographer that took the nudie pictures of Edward? Read on and you'll find out how all that fits in to the over-all plot.

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_**Isabella is back (in LA) in black  
Just Jared | September 10, **__**2010**_

_It was all dark colors for the media shy step daughter of governor Phil __Dwyer__ as she arrived __at LAX last__ night. Isabella, who is still morning the loss of her late husband, motorcycle champion Jacob Black, is rumored to be in town for __Dwyer's__ annual celebrity baseball fundraiser event. This will be her first public appearance since the tragic crash in January earlier this year._

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_**La Luna Steakhouse and Grill Bar in Los Angeles California.**_

_**.  
**_

Private investigator, Laurent Delmas, settled back in his seat and played with his napkin as he waited for his 'date' to arrive. The bar was not a fancy one—he wasn't in the mood for that tonight. He just wanted somewhere that he felt comfortable. He had a lot of money riding on this.

Tossing the napkin aside he looked up to check the sports scores on the flat screen TV above the bar. That's when he caught sight of a familiar face walking in through the front door. He smiled as she made her way through the half empty bar. Governor Dwyer's wife in a black short fringed wig and colored sun glasses. Now that was a sight you didn't see every day.

"Mata Hari, I presume," he greeted her as she came within earshot.

"Renee, will work just fine," the woman remarked and eased herself into the leather upholstered seat. "Thanks for meeting me here. I know it was short notice."

"Always at your service." Laurent touched his forehead in a mock salute and slid a glass of whiskey across the table. "I must say I was surprised when I got your call today. With your daughter in town for the fundraiser I figured my services were no longer needed."

"Getting her to make an appearance was only the first step. My daughter is one misguided young individual in need of constant guidance and strategic direction."

Laurent quirked his lips in a rather knowing expression. "And by guidance you mean you want to control the company she keeps."

"For her own good, of course," Renee agreed without as much as a flinch.

"Of course… and for the good of Dwyer's campaign. Don't think I don't know where your priorities lies."

"Public appearance is everything in this business. I need her image as the grieving widow to stay intact until after the election. It wont look good if she moves on too quickly."

"Especially not with someone whose family openly and financially supports your opponent."

"Exactly."

"Most mothers would kill to have their daughters date someone of Edward Cullen's financial and social status. He comes from a family of 'do-gooders' and 'go-getters'."

"They are his adopted family, mind you. And I don't care if he is related to mother fucking Teresa in direct line of descent. He is not dating my daughter. Not now and preferably not ever, if I have any say in the matter."

"Right and how is that working out for you?," Laurent asked coolly. "Last I heard you were pushing for a restraining order." He drained the last of his whiskey and then held the empty glass up to get the barman's attention.

Renee waited until the bartender had set down two new shots of the golden liquor and walked away before responding.

"I was, but I can't follow through on that just yet though. I can't risk the press learning about any of this, let alone my daughter. No, I need to find a quiet solution to this dilemma." Almost thoughtfully she swirled the ice around in her glass without looking at it. "Those kids have only been separated for a few weeks and lover boy is already trying to weasel his way back into her life_._ Just this morning there were a dozen red roses on our doorstep. I'm not sure how long I can keep Isabella in the dark about his efforts."

"You need something that will give you the upper hand when dealing with the Cullen boy."

"Yes, that's exactly what I need and I'm willing to pay handsomely for it_." _

Laurent suppressed a smile and pulled a wallet sized photograph from his pocket. "I am going to charge double my usual fee and you're going to cover my traveling expenses."

"This better be good, Delmas. Why am I looking at a photograph of a bunch of kids in a sandbox? What does this has to do with anything?"

"Everything, honey. This IS what you're been looking for, " Laurent's replied smugly. He had her now. Her interest was sparked. He could practically smell the money.

"The girl in this picture, Angela Weber, is the stalker your daughter been chasing the last couple of months. She was born Larissa Angelica Grey on april 23, 1990, in Holley, Florida. Her parents divorced early on in Angela's life and her mother Barbara remarried reverend Thomas Weber of the Baptist Congregation in Seattle."

"Is this leading anywhere anytime soon because as you know I have an unusually short attention span."

Ignoring her remark Laurent continued his story. "The biological father, Angelo Demarcus Wilson, was a hard-drinking criminal who died in a shooting during an attempted store robbery just a few years back. Her biological brother, however, is still alive and kicking." He tapped a finger at the boy in the photograph. "James T Wilson is his name. You might, even recognize it, seeing as he appears to be following in his fathers shady footsteps."

Renee nodded. "I assume this is the same Wilson that is wanted for the murder of judge Harridan's nephew…"

"Yep, that's the one. He started his career as a studio photographer, but he soon developed a somewhat questionable reputation."

"When he started dabbling in porn?" It was more of a statement that a question_._ "Look, this is all very fascinating, but I still don't seen how this could be of any use for me."

"Patience my dear, patience_… _In 2003 James helped his then barely teenaged sister get a summer job as a darkroom assistant. To make a long story short, the young girl witnessed more nudity and sexual aversion that summer than any young girl should ever have to witness. James was caught with his pant's down, literally… He was sued for sexual harassment and his sister was forced to testify against him in court. It was her words that got him convicted, something brother dearest wasn't too happy about. Death threats followed, hence the sudden name change. Larissa Grey became Angela Weber."

"Right, and stalker girl never quite recovered from all that drama, "Renee cut in, impatient as always. "The girl was in and out of mental health programs until she turned 18 and could cut all ties with her mother. About a year ago she relocated to NY where she started working as a cashier, a flower delivery person, and a nanny. That's how she met Cullen, got smitten and developed a crush bordering on obsession. I know this part of the story already."

"I know you do, but did you know that the girl recognized Edward Cullen from her summer as a darkroom assistant?" Laurent asked with a triumphant glint in his eyes. "Not only did she recognize him, but she had some rather disturbing photos of him in her possession. Her brother's handy work. I haven't seen them myself, but I've been told there is both nudity and homoerotic content."

"Now we are getting somewhere," Rene commented, a smile curling on her lips. "Disturbing photos of the Cullen heir. How much do I have to pay to get my hand on those photos?"

Ah here it comes…. Laurent Delmas all but rubbed his hands together in eager anticipation.

"How much are you willing to pay?"

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_**A few weeks later in a doctors office at a medical center two blocks from the FBI HQ**_

_**.  
**_

After being examined, Bella waited for the doctor to return to his office. She knew it was merely a formality. Her health, both mental and physical, was back to tip-top condition.

She had made a promise to herself and she had been sticking by it like glue for the last couple of weeks. No more dwelling on the past, no more wondering "what if" or anything of that nature….And no more waiting by the phone like a lovesick teenager. Five weeks and still no word from him. Edward wasn't going to call - it was as simple as that.

It was probably for the best. She was only one clear bill of health away from getting her status as a field agent reinstated and in her line of work, attachments could be very dangerous things to have.

That thought brought a little twinge to her spine, but she shook it off. In truth she missed him; missed the sparring, missed the arguments, missed his wry sense of humor.

"Special agent Swan," the doctor acknowledged her as he came into the room.

She stood. "I hope you come baring good news, doctor. All this waiting is not good for my nerves. "

He threw her file onto the desk. "I don't know where to start."

"Sir?"

"If I didn't know any better, I'd swear this was just another case of a female agent trying to get out of field duty."

"I don't understand."

"You're pregnant."

.

..~.._ ..~.._ ..~.._ ..~.._ ..~.._ ..~.._ ..~.._ ..~.._ ..~.._ ..~.._ ..~.._ ..~.._ ..~.._ ..~.._ ..~.._

THE END

..~.._ ..~.._ ..~.._ ..~.._ ..~.._ ..~.._ ..~.._ ..~.._ ..~.._ ..~.._ ..~.._ ..~.._ ..~.._ ..~.._ ..~.._

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AN: Yes I'm an evil, heartless wench for ending the story there. Please R&R and I might consider moving on with the sequel I had originally planned to write after finishing this fic.

There is a bunch of plot threads left hanging :

-Angela's motive

-James, the seven year old photo shot incident and the ongoing murder investigation

-Renee's odd behavior

And of course Bella's unexpected news

My personal goal with every new story I write is to try and write something that generates more reviews than my previous fics. In this case I'm still 12 reviews short so this is a great time for everyone who hasn't to let me know you're out there!

If I decide to go ahead with the sequel it would be a stand alone story (because that's how I prefer to write them) but it would pick up from where this one left of.

It will have Bella and Edward (and Seth) working together on another case. A new character will be introduced; a tiny, diaper clad one…. And no, it's not Bella and Edward's lovechild. Bella's pregnancy will be addressed, but it will play a minor role in the story…. That's all I'm saying at this point…

I'll have a teaser (first chapter) up within a week so be sure to put me on authors alert if you're interested in reading it. If I decide to go ahead with this new story I'll start updating it once I have the last chapter of "A twisted tale" one up on twilighted (I'm about 3 chapters behind over there…).

Thanks so much to everyone who has read, reviewed and/or put this story on alert.

It's been a pleasure writing for you!


	25. Sequel A teaser of 'A toxic Lullaby'

I promised you a teaser of the sequel, here it is:

_Fast forward two months…_

**...**

**Toxic Lullaby**** -Chapter 1, Lucid dreams**

**.  
NY, November 2010**

Ever had one of those dreams where you know you're dreaming but can't wake up? You try and try to force yourself to wake up, and then you think you've done it you open your eyes, yawn, stretch your arms out and everything... but you're still trapped inside the dream. You think the nightmare is over, but it only just begun.

In this particular nightmare the turning point was a phone call one early Tuesday morning….

.

...

.

"May I speak to Edward Cullen,please?" The voice was formal, crisp, just the hint of an accent.

"That would be me," Edward answered, cradling his phone between his shoulder and ear as he stepped into his shoes and put his coat on. He had been about to get ready to head out the door when the phone had rung.

"Edward Anthony Cullen, born on June 20, 1983 in Chicago, Illinois.".

"Yes," he replied warily. "Who's asking?"

"My name is Maggie Thompson," the female voice introduced herself. "Please allow me a few minutes of your time, and I'll explain wh-…"

"Who do you work for?" Edward cut her off impatiently. "If you're a telemarketer you're wasting your time. I'm already late for my chiropractor appointment."

"I'm not a telemarketer," she informed him. "I'm a social worker with the Seattle Department of Social Services. I have something that I think may belong to you. That's why I need to ask some questions."

"Okaaay… ," he answered hesitantly, "uhm… I mean, fine, go ahead. I'm listening."

"I know you grew up in Forks Washington, so I assume you're well acquainted with Seattle area? Does the name 'Kebi' sound familiar to you? "

"Nope, I can't say it does. It sounds like a bar or a teenage hangout or something."

"It's not a bar; it's a person, and a female one at that. What about Warwick Seattle Hotel? Have you ever stayed there?"

"That's in Belltown, right? Yeah, I think I might have stayed there once or twice."

"When was this? I you don't mind me asking."

He hesitated before answering. "I'm not sure, 2006, maybe? I was working on recording some instrumental pieces. It was right around Easter time, if I remember correctly. I was there for four, maybe five weeks. "

"2006 you say? Could it have been in Mars 2007?"

He hesitated again. "Are you going tot ell me what this is all about?"

"Well, as I told you previously, I work for the Seattle Department of Social Services. As of two days ago, we have a little boy, a two year old in protective custody. I hate to bring up such a sensitive subject over the phone like this, but there is really no way around it. The reason I'm calling is because I'm trying to locate living relatives of said child. "

"Well, in that case you got the wrong person."

"You sound certain."

"I am. I'm an only child with no living relatives. I have a big adopted family with many cousins, aunts and uncles, but there is no possible way that this child is related to me biologically."

"Would you be willing to take a DNA test?"

"A DNA test? What for?" He was briefly confused, but then realisation hit him like a fist to the gut. "Wait hold up! You're talking about a PATERNITY test? Is that what this is all about? You have a child that you think is… is.. MINE?"

"Yes, that's correct. That's why I'm calling. Someone left a little boy on the steps of a church in the outskirts of Seattle."

"I think you've got the wrong number, lady. I don't know anyone by the name 'Kebi' and that boy can not possibly be mine," he said, with a little more force than necessary.

"You might want to hear what the letter says before you hang up on me, Mr Cullen. "

"What letter?"

"The letter that was found with the child. The letter that names you as the child's primary care taker."

Edward never made it to his chiropractor appointment that Tuesday morning. Not to his lunch meeting either. Before the day was over he was on a plane on his way to Seattle.

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* * *

AN: An unexpected phone call, an unsettling letter and an unwanted gift. It appears as even though the stalker is out of the picture Edward is still haunted by nightmares from his past. Who's he gonna call? Not the Ghostbusters, that's for sure.

The sequel will be called Toxic Lullaby and I'll start posting it soon-ish.


	26. The Sequel is up!

The sequel is up! Yay!

It's called 'A Toxic Lullaby', I hope to see you all there!

/Miraline


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